Worth noting

• The lone vacant locker in the Mets' clubhouse at Port St. Lucie separates the lockers of David Wright and Mike Baxter. Well-established veterans routinely have at least one vacancy in the adjacent lockers. But what about Baxter. Why is his locker where it is?

"It was a tough decision. It was a long process," Wright said smiling. "Mike interviewed best."

• Before Santana threw his no-hitter on June 1 last year, Tom Seaver had found a silver lining in the Mets' long-standing double negative -- no no-no. "We have distinction," Seaver said. "The longer we go without one, the cooler it gets. Pretty soon every other team will have one, and we'll stand alone."

Seaver of course changed his posture when Santana no-hit the Cardinals. And now, Santana says he doesn't need the distinction of being the only Mets pitcher to throw one. "Besides," he said on Tuesday, gesturing toward the lockers of Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler, "We can have a few more around here pretty soon."