Johan Santana threw live batting practice at Field 7 in Port St. Lucie this morning. He looked like Johan Santana: Shimmying on the mound, throwing fastballs and changeups and sliders, inducing pop-ups, shouting and smiling.

He said afterward that he wasn’t worried about his velocity or the results so much as the way his arm felt in his second simulated inning of work, and that it felt good. Terry Collins said Santana needs to fine-tune his command and find consistency with his pitches, and that the main goal he has for the one-time ace this spring is to make it to April healthy.

And everyone seemed to emphasize that the most important thing will be how Santana feels tomorrow. We’ll see how he feels tomorrow.

I suspect there’s a good metaphor in there for the 2012 Mets’ season, what with the uncertainty everywhere, but my head aches from the sun and I’m going on short rest after podcasting last night. So someone else can take a stab at it. Or maybe it’s that simple: The most important thing is how it feels tomorrow.

Other stuff: We wondered on last week’s podcast why Justin Turner would be working as the Mets’ backup first baseman, what with all the natural first basemen already on their roster. Collins explained today: He thinks Lucas Duda has enough on his plate improving in right field to have to worry about backing up first base, and he wants Daniel Murphy working exclusively at second.

Collins added that when word came out about Ike Davis’ lung infection, the team started discussing other options for first if Davis had to miss the first month or two of the season. He suggested that in that scenario, Murphy would return to first, since the team has other options for the middle infield.

– Valentino Pascucci was playing for Tim Teufel in Caracas when Teufel was fired. Pascucci said that a few days after Teufel left, the team sent all its American players home, calling for a fresh start. Pascucci then joined Ken Oberkfell in Escogido in the Dominican Winter League.

– Manny Acosta drives this car. You would expect nothing less from one of the Top 5 most famous people in Panama. (Photo from Rob Castellano of Amazin’ Avenue.)

– Make of this what you will, but during batting practice Jason Bay hit several home runs to the space between the old left-field wall and the new one on the Citi Field replica Field 7. He also hit at least one clear over both and into the trees beyond.