Miguel Cabrera destroyed a Jonathan Papelbon fastball
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Miguel Cabrera destroyed a Jonathan Papelbon fastball
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
CLEARWATER, Fla. — During batting practice, it is not an uncommon sight at Bright House Field. Balls fly over the tiki bar in left field, sometimes causing damage to whatever vehicles are parked beyond the walls of the stadium.
That sort of power is rare in actual games. Then Miguel Cabrera's bat met Jonathan Papelbon's errant fastball Monday.
Moments after Cabrera swung, only a select few could see where the ball actually landed. It whacked the top of a semi-truck trailer, a nearby security guard said, and bounced to the fence that serves as the outfield wall for a practice field at the adjacent Carpenter Complex.
"Nice hitting," Charlie Manuel said. "I got to watch it. It went a long ways, over the tiki hut."
It did not amuse Papelbon, but the Phillies closer was rational about being saddled with an 81.00 ERA in Grapefruit League. Seven of the nine batters he faced reached base before he was mercifully removed at 31 pitches.
"Spring is spring, Papelbon said. "You have to do what you can do to prepare for the season. You can't just say, 'Oh it's spring training.' I don't think anyone in here, including myself, goes about it that way. Everybody comes here with a plan and approach to be ready. I'm no different than everyone else.
"For me it's repeating my delivery and throwing my pitches out in front."
He repeated it Monday with horrific results. The Phillies are fine with it happening February 25.
"Pap got a nice little ERA today," Manuel said. "But I'm not worried about Papelbon."
Papelbon said he expects to pitch in eight Grapefruit League games, his typical workload, even with the longer spring. It will be hard to match one as dreadful as Monday's.
It looked like it was in the 9th inning but where were the fans? It's the third spring game. Are people already leaving early after only the third game?— Phillies2008WSChamps- The Phils have a lot to prove after last year's disaster. The onus is on the team, not the fans. — fmMD
- Paps was missing his spots by 3 feet. The pitch Cabrera hit was supposed to be low and away, it went high and inside. Not even close. I was actually shocked he hit it that far only because of where the location was. Usually guys can hit it on the trademark, maybe yank it down the line for a double, But he kept it fair by a mile and hit it over everything. Of course the wind was blowing that way, too. That ball didn't need any wind though.......— Mark1npt
- PS...even when we were ahead 1-0 in the 5th there were plenty of empty seats. Reality has set in........— Mark1npt
- Say we are in for another informative year with T-Mac and Sgt. today they told us that the warning track warns the players that the wall is close. HELP ME MAMA— stoky
- Welcome Stoky— NewMick314
- Memo to Papelbon: Pontificate on 'leadership' lesson. Concentrate on pitching, you know, your day job, more.
— therealeman - Did anyone actually listen to Sarge today? If you did, did you understand what he said? He made no sense at all. T-Mac asked him a question, and Sarge went off in a tangent in some other direction. He changed in mid-discussion from the warning track to Wrigley Field not having any room down the foul lines. He actually said Betancourt is a good hitter, too.
— SEEK313 - from retaining our manager to the worst TV announcing team in the league, this organization is testing the patience of even the most enduring fans. Watching Manuel perform his duties and listening to McCarthy, Matthews and Wheeler has become very, very difficult for most of us.
The sellout streak ended last season. And a new one won't be starting anytime soon. If that doesn't translate into needing a new direction to ownership, what will?— advantasux - If you are making a lot of money selling a product, you don't change the ingredients until the fans stop buying.
Business 1-oh-1— fmMD 
LEADERSHIP.....
