"Travis Hafner, to a degree, knows how Justin Morneau feels.

On July 16, 2005, Hafner was hit in the face by a Mark Buehrle fastball in the first inning at Progressive Field. He did not play again until Aug. 4, sidelined for 20 days with concussion-like symptoms and damage to the small bones in his inner ear.

He returned to have one of his best seasons with the Indians, hitting .308 (140-for-454) with 100 runs, 31 doubles, 42 homers, 117 RBI, a .408 on-base percentage and a .595 slugging percentage.

The memories remain as he has sympathy for Morneau, the Twins' first baseman who has been unable to play since July 7 because of a concussion.

"You're sitting around feeling fine and ready to go," said Hafner. "Then you get up and start riding the stationary bike or taking a few swings and all of a sudden you're dizzy.

"Physically you don't feel like there's anything wrong, but your head isn't right. A lot of times you feel cloudy mentally. You get dizzy really easy. You're sensitive to sound and light."

Initially, the Indians treated Hafner for a concussion. In his conversation with doctors and other medical experts, Lonnie Soloff, Indians head athletic trainer, was told that Hafner might be suffering from a vestibular problem where the small bones in the inner ear might have been damaged from the force of Buehrle's pitch."