Over the last few years I’ve almost forced myself to forget just how much of a monster Travis Hafner was from 2004 to 2006.
It was easier for me to accept the fact that he fell off the face of the baseball earth after getting locked up long-term for major dollars that way. Easier for me to accept the fact that immediately after he was paid like a core player, and one of the best hitters in baseball, he stopped being both of those things entirely.
In my mind Hafner was essentially the poster-boy for all that ailed the Indians over the last few seasons. I blamed him in part for losing that Boston series in 2007, and I blamed him for being injured for most of the last three years too. Probably not entirely fair of me to do so, but I did.
Nor was it probably fair for me to blame the Indians organization for investing in what turned out to be an injured DH who couldn’t play the field, while cutting guys like Victor Martinez loose. How were they supposed to know back ...
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