"Travis Hafner was off Wednesday. The Angels started left-hander Scott Kazmir and the Indians are off today.

It fit the Indians' schedule for Hafner since he came off the disabled list Aug. 15. Four to five days on, one day off, in order to keep his right shoulder strong. But while he was off, the conversation about hitting never really stops.

The Indians have the youngest team in the big leagues. When the young position hitters want to talk hitting, they seek out hitting coach Jon Nunnally and Hafner.

"Grandpa Pronk," said Hafner, 33, with a laugh. "Somebody said that right away."

Hafner, who doubled and homered in Tuesday's 6-1 victory over the Angels, said the abundance of conversation about hitting has a lot to do with the Indians' youth.

"It's something you always do," said Hafner, "being a younger team, it seems like we talk about it more than in the past."

Hafner said the group can include up to seven or eight players.

"It's actually been great, we've actually got quite a few guys on the team who sit around and talk hitting a lot. It's helped me out a lot, too. You bring up things you used to do.

"There are quite a few guys on the team . . . probably seven or eight us. We talk in the clubhouse, in the batting cage, on the plane. It's fun."

Said Trevor Crowe: "We talk with Nuns [Nunnally], but a lot of guys talk among themselves. We've seen each other play, we're facing the same pitches. A guy like Jordan Brown has seen my swing for seven or eight years.

"It's always nice to have veteran players like Hafner around so you can pick their brains. He knows the swings so well, he's easy to talk to."

Hafner isn't just dispensing knowledge, he's learning as well.

"It's good if we're going over pitchers, mechanics or approach," he said. " You'll get to talking and realize things you used to do and maybe have gotten away from. You try to incorporate that into your approach or swing. It's helped me out a lot, too." "