Manny gets on many times in debut

It's all good for Manny Ramirez in his first outing of the spring. A single and two walks in three at bats left him with a perfect on base percentage in 2009.

Three times up, three times on. And so Ramirez, late to spring training after signing a two-year, $45-million contract, was back in action.

"I said, 'You haven't lost of any of your flair, from last year to this year,' " Dodgers Manager Joe Torre said.

Despite his perfect on-base percentage, Ramirez complained about his timing at the plate. But he said his legs -- a balky hamstring had delayed his Cactus League debut for one day -- felt fine.

"It takes time, that's why we're here in spring training, to get a lot of at-bats, make a lot of mistakes and get it out of your system and move on to the season," Ramirez said.

We'll have to wait and see if a tight hamstring costs Manny any power at the plate leading up the regular season. Most of a batter's power begins with his legs. Manny's got plenty of legs when he's healthy.

Percival pitches well in first outing

Johan Santana's start might have been the most talked about pitching performance in the state of Florida, but also in the Sunshine State today: the return of Troy Percival. The Rays' aging reliever still has a shot to win the closer job. His hamstring and knee held up, as did his surgically repaired back. He pitched a hitless 5th against the Phillies.

On Thursday, he faced Ryan Howard, Geoff Jenkins and Gregg Dobbs.

Howard and Jenkins tapped pitches out in front of the plate that catcher Dioner Navarro easily fielded. Dobbs bounced to first baseman Carlos Pena, forcing Percival to run and cover the bag, which he did with ease.

"It was a step," Percival said. "I was actually forcing myself to mentally throttle back and throw my pitches, but I'd let a couple go, so the next time I'll do a little bit more. I'm gonna take it a step at a time."

Percival, who is eighth in saves with 352, said he will be ready by opening day, and Rays manager Joe Maddon is hopeful he'll be able to reorganize his bullpen.

"He looks very good to me," Maddon said. "I don't see any kind of hesitation or restriction. So, I think he's in really good shape."

With Jason Isringhausen and Grant Balfour as well, it's hard to expect Percival to keep his closing job all year. It's hard to bet against him winning the job for awhile, either.

Johana Santana solid in spring debut

Johan Santana said he felt "pretty good" after his first spring training start, giving him and the Mets hope he can hurry his return from elbow soreness in time for the season opener.

“I was able to get everything going right away,” Santana said. “I threw all my pitches. That was a good sign.”

Originally set to make his debut on March 3, Santana, who had off-season knee surgery, was scratched from two starts because of elbow tightness. The team considered sending him to New York for a magnetic resonance imaging test, but a few days’ rest diminished the discomfort and Santana resumed an accelerated schedule that has him on track to pitch the April 6 opener in Cincinnati.

Santana has not complained about soreness since he rested, and team officials have been so confident in his progress that they did not attend his bullpen session Monday.

After Santana retired the side in the first inning on 10 pitches, Manager Jerry Manuel could not suppress a smile. Santana opened the second by grooving a first-pitch fastball that Dan Uggla slugged over the left-field wall, but that hardly bothered Santana.

“It’s all about feeling healthy and getting stronger,” Santana said. “And I felt pretty good.”

Sounds like everything is good. I doubted highly that Santana would be starting the Mets' opener earlier in the spring. Funny enough, perhaps thaks to the World Baseball Classic extending spring training, he might make it.