question sitThe final two weeks of spring training are crucial for every team. This is when we start to see fewer split-squad games. This is when we see regular lineups on a regular basis. This is when pitchers are fully “stretched out,” in the modern parlance – close to any pitch count or innings limit. This is when it all starts to feel real.

This is when all your offseason questions should be answered. Enter the Mets.

Right after the Super Bowl, the gates opened in Port St. Lucie and the Mets arrived with instability in the outfield, a shaky bullpen, a dearth of talent at shortstop and a battle for first base. With less than two weeks to Opening Day, the Mets have instability in the outfield, a shaky bullpen, a dearth of talent at shortstop and a battle for first base. If this team really is to be a member of the elite 90-win club, these issues had to be addressed. As of this writing, they have not been.

 * There is a staring contest going on between GM Sandy Alderson and Scott Boras, agent for free agent SS Stephen Drew. Drew undoubtedly represents an upgrade over incumbent Ruben Tejada, but Alderson seems to be counting on Boras to blink. This has not happened and Drew’s most likely landing spot now is Detroit. There has not been anything substantial discussed on the trade front since December. Barring anything unforeseen, the shortstop is Tejada, a situation satisfying to no one.

 * Bobby Parnell won the closer’s job decisively last season, until he had to shut down due to a herniated disk in his neck. Surgery was required, so it looked kind of murky as to whom the closer would be when the bell rang. “No worries,” Alderson and manager Terry Collins told us. “Vic Black can hold down the job until Parnell is ready.” Thankfully, Parnell appears ready, because Black has been cuffed around considerably of late, leading us to wonder whether he can be a set-up man, let alone a closer.

 * Ike Davis and Lucas Duda haven’t been able to stay on the field long enough to settle the first base issue. They’re getting at-bats in minor league intra-squad games, sure, but neither one is running and Davis only recently shed a walking boot. And now rumors are swirling that Alderson is dangling Davis as trade bait again.

 * The outfield is still unsettled. Chris Young has impressed with his hitting in Florida, belying his woeful production of a year ago. Curtis Granderson is the expensive vet, the premier free agent signing, so he will play as long as he’s able. The jumble comes in the fact that the other candidates are all of the same mold: light hitting, powerless, strikeout prone, fleet defensive specialists. Eric Young, Jr. could be Matt den Dekker could be Kirk Nieuwenhuis could be Juan Lagares if you’re not looking closely enough – though Lagares’ defense should give him a slight leg up on the other three. It doesn’t appear that cuts any water with Collins, though, who supposedly favors Young, Jr.

Yes, the Mets have talent on the horizon. Even the most remote outpost of the MSM can recognize that. But for now, there are still more questions than answers.

And it’s getting pretty late for that.

Follow me on Twitter @CharlieHangley

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