After asking Boston to trade him during the offseason, Manny Ramirez was given permission by the Red Sox to report to spring training on March 1, six days after the club's first full-squad workout and one day after Major League Baseball's mandatory reporting date.

"Manny is in Florida completing an extensive training regimen and is prepared to have an exceptional season," said a joint statement from Ramirez and the team yesterday.

"There are a lot of factors involved, some of them are personal, some are family related," general manager Theo Epstein said in Fort Myers, Fla.

"He assured us that by staying in Miami and continuing to work with his personal trainer, continuing his regimen, that he wouldn't be behind. We were OK with accommodating him. It's not perfect, but we're going to support him through this."

"It happens all the time, guys all over the big leagues show up at different times," Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling said. "He'll be ready to play."

Dodgers

Citing his strained relationship with Barry Bonds in San Francisco, Jeff Kent said the tense atmosphere in the Los Angeles clubhouse last season shouldn't be used as a reason for the team's 71-91 finish. "That's not an excuse. Me and Barry fought all the time and we went to the World Series," Kent said.

Cardinals

Larry Walker made his first spring training appearance with St. Louis, only as an instructor instead of as player. After spending 18 years in the major leagues, Walker is on manager Tony La Russa's training-camp staff.

Elsewhere

Robert W. Peterson, whose book "Only the Ball Was White" chronicled the story of the Negro leagues, has died. He was 80.