"Four more days, and Travis Hafner's forced vacation will be over.

During the Indians' nine-game trip to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Cincinnati, Hafner has had little to do. He gets to put on his uniform every day, but other than working out and taking batting practice, there's not much reason for him to look like a baseball player.

With few exceptions, he isn't allowed to play. Designated hitters are banned from the lineups of teams playing in National League ballparks, so Hafner waits to see if manager Manny Acta can find a way to use him as a pinch hitter.

Before the trip, Acta said he wanted to get Hafner one at-bat every game. It hasn't quite worked out that way. Hafner came to the plate in the first three games, against the Pirates, but in his first plate appearance, he didn't even take a swing, because a pitch bounced in the dirt and hit him in the leg.

In his next two at-bats, Hafner grounded out, and he did not get a chance to hit Tuesday night in the opener against the Philadelphia Phillies.

''I pretty much stick to my routine and wait for a spot I can hit,'' Hafner said of his predicament.

But his routine as an everyday DH isn't quite the same as it is when he is waiting for one at-bat as as pinch hitter.

''I hit in the cage, ride the bike, do anything to stay loose, when I'm in the lineup,'' Hafner said.

And during this trip?

''After the fourth or fifth inning, I'll do some cardio,'' he said. ''I'll come in and do something every inning after that. I'll kind of watch the game, maybe think along [with the manager] about how I might get an opportunity to hit, so I can be ready.''

Hafner's absence from the lineup couldn't have come at a worse time, just when he was finding his groove at the plate. Before the trip, he batted .333 with four home runs and 10 RBI in a nine-game span."