Alex Rodriguez finally got to talk to David Huff Saturday night and was relieved to learn that the Indians pitcher he had struck in the head with a searing line drive Saturday was out of the hospital and feeling better. A-Rod was visibly upset by the incident and kneeled on one knee near the mound as trainers attended the fallen lefthander. Rodriguez left the clubhouse immediately after the game and planned to visit Huff at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center before learning that he had already been released and was back at the Stadium.
 
A-Rod reached Huff by cell phone while the pitcher was on the Indians’ team bus going back to their Manhattan hotel. Rodriguez recalled the time Bobby Abreu hit the Twins’ Nick Blackburn with a liner two years ago but knew this was worse because Huff was motionless for several minutes.

“Definitely, it was a heart-stopper,” A-Rod said. “David lay there for it seemed like 30 minutes, although it was probably three or four minutes. The one thing that I was most concerned with was if his family was in the stands. Sure enough, his whole family was here.

“In front of 55,000 people, only one person knows how hard you hit it. A lot of times you hit it back up the box, you hit it off the end or you get jammed, but I hit that ball really flush. It sounded like it hit a brick wall. He actually kidded with me that he was going to come find me during batting practice and ask me if that was my best shot, if that’s all I got. My answer would have been, ‘Yeah. That’s all I got.’ “

Amazingly, Huff might even make his next scheduled start Thursday at Detroit, although that has yet to be determined.