I’ve got some longer things that I’m working on, but they require quotes from a bunch of people that I haven’t been quite able to track down. So for now, more quick hits. I swear I’ll have more cohesive things soon:

– I had previously reported that Chuck James has a sweet beard, but it turns out that I mistook Garrett Olson for James, and Olson is the one with the sweet beard. Chuck James also has a beard, but it is less sweet. Adjust your depth charts accordingly.

– Wilmer Flores played DH for the intrasquad game, but I’ve seen him working at both second and third in camp. He spent some time working one-on-one with a coach this morning on a series of drills that seemed aimed to improve his hands.

– I’m obviously no scout, but Mike Baxter has a nice arm in right. Also, he has better Minor League numbers than fellow lefty-hitting bench candidate Adam Loewen. I’d guess the best case to be made for Loewen is the one I’ve made here: That Loewen is still improving since becoming a full-time position player. But obviously that battle has a lot of time to play out, and it seems like the type of spot that the Mets might easily try to fill with a guy who gets cut elsewhere.

– Baxter made a diving catch in right while I was writing that last note.

– Cesar Puello walked twice in his first three plate appearances in the intrasquad game. He walked 18 times in 488 plate appearances in St. Lucie in 2011.

– I’m pretty sure I heard Ike Davis refer to Ruben Tejada as “El Niño” during a drill. I will never hear that without thinking of this: