"Manny Acta believes the full-time designated hitter is vanishing throughout baseball. Not how purists would like to see it vanish -- overnight or into thin air.

It's just that the DH has become a fluid role for American League managers to use in myriad ways, including getting everyday players off their feet while keeping their bats in the lineup.

Not surprisingly, Indians' DH Travis Hafner doesn't totally buy the benefits of sweeping change. If he did, he'd be like the curator at a spotted owl sanctuary coming out in support of extinction.

"I could see wanting more versatility out of the spot," Hafner said Sunday. "But at the same time if you have that big thumper in the middle of the order, that's a pretty good luxury to have as well."

Be careful about jumping to conclusions. Hafner wasn't calling himself a big thumper. He's not delusional. Approaching his 34th birthday in June, those days are likely gone forever.

When Acta calls Hafner "one of the last guys to be a full-time DH," the Indians' manager is certainly not saying it because Hafner's production makes him an unmovable force against an irresistible trend. It's because Hafner can't play a position and because his contract makes him untradeable.

Two years remain at $13 million each. There's a club option for 2013, but you'd bet on him seeing the $2.75 million buyout instead.

Even with power numbers in decline around baseball, Hafner's drop in homers and RBI in recent seasons stands out. Not just from his best season in 2006 when he batted .308 with 42 homers and 117 RBI but from his more modest 2007 (24 homers, 100 RBI).

Some of that goes directly to his shoulder issues. But even he says he developed poor habits that were not all connected to his injury. "