"Travis Hafner ran sprints in the outfield Tuesday afternoon at Oakland Coliseum. Then again, sprints might be a generous description.

"I'm surprised you could see me," said Hafner. "I thought I'd just be a blur."

At 6-3 and 240 pounds, Hafner has never been a blur, but he has been a lot faster than he was Tuesday.

"Running wise, I'm about 70 percent," said the Indians' designated hitter.

Hafner had not played since Wednesday when he slid into home plate as the third and final run on Orlando Cabrera's first-inning bases-loaded double in a 7-2 victory over Kansas City. The slide, which wasn't necessary, sprained a tendon in his right foot. Hafner has been in a walking boot ever since.

Tuesday night, Hafner pinch-hit for Adam Everett in the seventh inning against Oakland's Mike Wuertz, working a walk with two out before being replaced by pinch-runner Orlando Cabrera.

"It's doing better," said Hafner after his workout. "I plan on DHing Wednesday. I've had it in a boot to get as much rest as possible. I'm not 100 percent, but when I hit, it felt good."

Manager Manny Acta confirmed that Hafner will start Wednesday. "He could have started tonight," said Acta before Tuesday's game, "but we wanted to give him one more day."

The designated hitter is in the lineup to hit and that's what Hafner has been doing. Despite missing five games, he still has the fifth-highest average in the American League at .342 (26-for-76) with five doubles, four homers and 11 RBI. He has a .566 slugging percentage and a .393 on-base percentage.

The Tribe's substitute DHs haven't done badly. The Indians went 4-0 against the Royals and Tigers during their just-completed homestand with Hafner out of the lineup. Shelley Duncan and Matt LaPorta, who filled in at DH, hit a combined .313 (5-for-16) with one homer and three RBI.

Duncan was Tuesday's DH against the Athletics. "