Catchers likely to split time 50-50

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Wilson Ramos appears to have made a full recovery from a torn ACL.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Though he won't reveal yet who will start behind the plate on Opening Day, Nationals manager Davey Johnson did strongly suggest today he plans to give Kurt Suzuki and Wilson Ramos equal playing time to begin the regular season.

The Nationals opened camp six weeks ago believing Ramos would need time to build himself back up after tearing the ACL in his right knee last May. Though he was expected all along to be ready for Opening Day, he figured to defer to Suzuki for playing time early on, then gradually increase his workload until he re-assumed the No. 1 catching job.

But Ramos has impressed since he arrived for spring training and has progressed perhaps faster than most assumed.

"He was doing the same stuff everyone else was doing from day one, actually more so," Johnson said. "He never missed a day on anything. We held him out of games [early] because the doctor was scheduled to see him again ... but he passed all those things with flying colors, as well as sliding. He's been basically on pretty much the same path that Suzuki's been on. I look at both pretty much being on equal footing going into the year right now."
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