Last season was an all too familiar outcome for the blue-bonneted stepchildren of the Big Apple. For the 10th time since 2000, the Miracles failed to reach the postseason. As a result, Jon Stewart, quite possibly the organization's loyalest fan, added another gray hair to his increasingly silver dome.

Unfortunately for Stew Beef, and the entire Mets fan-base, additional pain and suffering is sure to follow.

The Mets, still financially unstable stemming from the Wilpons' ties to the Bernie Madoff scandal, are seemingly satisfied playing the undercard in the country's biggest market. This offseason, GM Sandy Alderson was unable to retain prized free agent Jose Reyes who bolted for big bucks on South Beach. Additionally, 2010 breakout Angel Pagan was shipped to the West Coast for Andres Torres. With Carlos Beltran also out of the picture, the club is clearly in rebuilding mode, an undesirable state that will likely force the franchise to log extensive time near the NL East basement this season.

Still, for fantasy purposes, the Mets, unlike fellow dungeon dweller Houston, aren't completely devoid of talent. To help decipher the meaningful form the meaningless, here are the most pressing questions about New York heading into spring training:

Citi Field, a pitcher's haven in its short existence, is getting a Comerica-like facelift with fences coming in upwards of 17 feet. Will the shortened dimensions boost an offense that finished 26th in home runs in 2011? What impact will the move have on the pitching staff?

The cavernous specs and "Great Wall of Flushing" in left greatly hindered the Mets' power stroke, and its visitors'. In its stats-deflating three-year history the ballpark has yielded a mere 1.43 home runs per game, the lowest number among big league venues. In the less spacious confines, Alderson believes his team will club roughly 27 more home runs per season, enhancing the value of its sluggers. David Wright is the only Met to surpass 20 homers in a season since Citi Field's opening (2010 when he hit 29 HRs overall, 12 at home). This year, it's likely the now healthy third baseman along with rebound candidate Ike Davis and sleeper Lucas Duda will each surpass that mark. Jason Bay, meanwhile, will continue to suck.

Of course, there's give and take with any fence-line alteration. ERAs could definitely be on the rise, especially for fly-ball heavy pitchers. Jonathan Niese, a strong breakout candidate (3.14 K/BB, 3.77 tERA in '11), Mike Pelfrey, R.A. Dickey and Dillon Gee shouldn't be too negatively impacted by the change. Each did a commendable job keeping balls in the park posting groundball rates well above 45.0 percent last year. However, Johan Santana, assuming he's healthy, could come down with a nasty case of gopheritis. During his last healthy season, 2010, the two-time Cy Young winner allowed 1.12 HR/9 at Citi Field. He also notched a skyward 0.75 GB/FB ratio with the Mets from '09-'10. If Johan doesn't regain his mystifying form, he could become a punching bag, even at home.

What's less risky: Swigging untreated water from the East River or rostering Johan in a standard mixer?

Believe it or not, the waterway's diseased swill might possess fewer toxins than the former fantasy ace. The multi-time All-Star is coming off a season lost, recovering from major shoulder surgery. Still, contrary to December reports that painted a grim picture about the pitcher's early season availability, Alderson revealed recently an April appearance isn't out of the question. From the New York Times:

As for Santana, who did not pitch for the Mets last season as he recovered from shoulder surgery, Alderson said he was throwing on consecutive days from a distance of roughly 75 feet. He said he expected Santana to be ready for the start of the season but could not be sure. "The answers are going to come in spring training, not beforehand," Alderson said. "We have no reason to believe it won't be the case. Right now, he's progressing and should be ready to go at the start of spring training."

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