Block manifold and water pump after heater delete?

[abohler1]

Been looking through tons of threads and getting different opinions and trying to fill in the blanks. Can I just plug the manifold and the water pump where each of the heater hoses used to be respectively? Or do I need to keep them connected with a short hose?
Second, I pulled the hose off the manifold and it started spewing coolant. Can I quickly plug that hole, or should I drain the radiator? Will the same happen when I pull the hose for the water pump? Thanks.