Player of the week

Sporting News, The, July 22, 2005

Travis Hafner Designated hitter, Cleveland Indians

Hafner continued his assault on American League pitching--and helped keep the Indians in the A.L. wild-card scramble--by batting .480 (12-for- 25) with five home runs, 11 RBIs and 10 runs scored. He put on his own fireworks display on Independence Day, going 6-for-10 with three homers and six RBIs in a doubleheader against A.L Central rival Detroit.

LOS ANGELES ANGELS

FIRST HALF SURPRISE: When the club signed SS Orlando Cabrera to replace David Eckstein, it knew it was giving up some offense but believed Cabrera's defense would be superior. Unfortunately, Cabrera has struggled to find consistency in all areas of his game. He has been lacking most noticeably at the plate and entered the week hitting almost 50 points below his 2004 average with the Red Sox and his 2003 average with the Expos. Despite his successful stint with the Red Sox, Cabrera still has not fully adjusted to the American League, and a sore right elbow sent him to the D.L. in late June. SECOND HALF SLEEPER: IF Maicer Izturis has played well in Cabrera's absence and will return to his infield utility role and serve as a pinch hitter and pinch runner when Cabrera returns. Izturis doesn't have Cabrara's arm, but he has tremendous range and gets excellent jumps on the ball. The bigger plus has been his offense. Izturis (5-8, 150) has surprising power in the gap for his size.--Mike Scarf