Though it’s unlikely the Mets trade Niese, he said it’s a matter in which he has no control.

“Obviously, it’s not my decision where I pitch,” he said. “I’m sure I’ll stay here with the Mets, and I’m looking forward to it.”

And we as fans are surely looking forward to a full, healthy season of Niese. He said that his goal is to pitch more than 200 innings in 2012 and has been working on his cardiovascular endurance to help him achieve that goal. He’s had injury troubles in his brief career so wants to stay in good shape to avoid any future problems.

Jonathon Niese at the Mets Kids' Holiday Party

Niese said he will not add anything new to his repertoire, but he will instead try to master the four pitches he has. He wants every pitch to be 100 percent and wants to make sure that he feels confident in using them all so he can mix his pitches well.

Having Johan Santana back (hopefully) will also be a nice boost for Niese, who has already learned so much from the veteran lefty.

“He’s [Santana] a huge force,” Niese said. “With an injury, you can never tell, but we’re looking forward to have him back. Just his presence alone will help on our staff a lot.”

Niese enjoyed being teammates with another lefty, Chris Capuano, but Capuano is now with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Niese said he would miss Chris very much.

“Those moves happen; you just got to move on,” said Niese.

Though Niese has absorbed what veterans R.A. Dickey and Chris Young have told him, he likes learning from fellow lefties.

“Obviously as a lefty, you’d like to talk to other lefties to see how they get hitters out,” he said.

Additionally, Niese likes the team’s new additions to the bullpen. The organization believes Ramon Ramirez, Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco will sure up the end of the game.

“I think they [the front office] filled the holes that needed to be filled,” Niese said. “I look forward to meeting the guys and working with them.”

Niese anticipates his matchup against former teammate Jose Reyes and the Miami Marlins. He said he is very excited for the challenge.

“Watching him hit for a while…hopefully, I picked up enough to learn how to get him out,” said Niese.

As a pitcher, Niese said the new Citi Field dimensions would not change the way he pitches. He will still try to get ground balls and doesn’t think the new dimensions will be a big issue for the staff. He does think that the defense will improve in the ballpark.

“All those bloop hits that fell…I think those are going to be caught this year,” he said.

Finally, Niese anticipates the day where he will pitch in meaningful games late in the season. He had a brief taste in 2008 when he made a few spot starts, but he said the goal of every pitcher is to pitch in the postseason.

“Hopefully, if things go right for us,” Niese said. “We can reach that.”

Most importantly, Murphy said that both his knees are feeling good in anticipation for spring training.

“I’m done with my rehab, and now we’re really into the strengthening phase,” he said. “I always have that one cut that I need to make to trust it again, and I had that a couple of weeks ago.”

Santa Murphy spread some holiday joy.

Heading into spring training, it seems that it will be Murphy manning second base for the Mets. Ruben Tejada will shift to shortstop due to the departure of Jose Reyes, so Murph becomes the man at second.

Though he’s concentrating on getting as much work in at second base as possible, that doesn’t mean that he’s not going to work at other positions. Also, being the frontrunner to win the second base job doesn’t mean that he’s not going to work.

“I still got a lot of work to do at second base, and there’s a lot of room for improvement,” Murphy said. “My understanding is that I’m going into spring training as a second baseman with a good chance to win the job.”

He said he definitely needs to work more on the double play, but he feels much more comfortable now after working at it the past year than he did last year at this time.

Regarding the new dimensions at Citi Field, Murphy said he didn’t think it would turn him into a better power hitter.

“I’m going to try to hit the ball as hard as I can as many times as I can,” he said. “If it happens to run out of real estate, that’s kind of a bonus for me.”

Murphy also addressed his injury history in that it was mostly bad luck. While he takes the blame in that he must put himself in a better position, he admitted the first injury was from a dirty slide. As the offseason progresses, he will focus on the double play pivot extensively.

The team has discussed briefly the possibility of having Murphy lead off, now that Reyes and Angel Pagan are gone. Murphy said that he would only lead off once per game and would let the circumstances of the game dictate his approach.

Speaking of Reyes, Murphy said it will be strange to play against Jose after being his teammate, but the game itself comes before personal relationships with opponents.

“When we play him…he’s on the other side now,” Murphy said. “He’s a Marlin now. As far as I’m concerned once the bell rings, you’re on the other side.

He did say that he’d have Reyes and his $106 million pick up the tab if they go out to dinner in Miami.

Rather than worry about his individual stats, Murphy has one goal: 95-100 wins. Though that may be a tall order this season, he’s excited with the potential of this team.

“I want to win a pennant, and there’s no better place to win it than New York City so it’s about time to get to it, I think,” said Murphy.

Believe or not, Murphy is the fourth longest-tenured Met behind Johan Santana, David Wright and Mike Pelfrey. However, he said he still feels like one of the younger guys and is looking forward to playing with a young new core.

Murphy was recently mentioned in trade rumors with the Dodgers showing interest. He took this as a compliment in that other teams are interested in his talents.

But he is committed to the Mets and thinks that if the team stays healthy, they can put the negative stigma of the past few seasons behind them.

As spring training approaches, Murphy hopes to transform himself into what he considers an above average first baseman to a competent second baseman.

First, he spoke about the new changes to the outfield wall at Citi Field. He said that it wasn’t one particular event that sparked the change, but that the constant “consternation and criticism” triggered the decision.

The team recognized that they had the power to make a change and went ahead with the plans.

Construction on fences at Citi Field

“I was happy that there was some hope this year to think about changing the ballpark,” said Alderson.

However, Alderson does not want to depress one part of the roster just to cater to the new ballpark dimensions. He said he hopes the attitudes and frame of mind of the hitters will improve once the changes are complete.

“I think more scoring makes more sense because it’s more entertaining,” he said. “A little more offense will not only be a plus for the players but also the fans.”

Alderson went on to discuss that he has no regrets in the way the Jose Reyes situation was handled. The Miami Marlins were aggressive players the whole way, and the Mets were not in a position finically to make a deal.

“I don’t think we ever had a shot at signing Jose if we made the first offer,” Alderson said.

Despite losing out on Reyes, Alderson said he was very pleased with being able to bolster the bullpen with Jon Rauch, Ramon Ramirez and Frank Francisco. He also still likes some of the bullpen pieces the team currently has, and it should all make for a good combination.

“We weren’t looking to bring in three,” said Alderson. “We were looking to bring in two. We’re happy we got the three, so what was a weakness is a modest strength for us right now.”

Meanwhile, the team’s depth at catcher has been waning, and Alderson is aware of this. But rather than spend the limited funds the team has on a catcher that would not significantly improve the current roster, the team will use those funds on other needs.

“At least for the time being, our catching situation is going to be a year-to-year proposition,” said Alderson.

Sandy Alderson talks to the media

Finally, Alderson addressed the Angel Pagan trade, which netted the Mets Ramirez and Andres Torres. He said the trade happened very quickly—within a matter of hours. He did say that both Fernando Martinez and Kirk Nieuwenhuis may still not be ready to assume full-time duty or even bench roles with the big club.

There may be a few minor moves that Alderson makes before spring training, but being cash-strapped has certainly taken its toll on the ball club.

Turner burst onto the scene in 2011 and was an RBI machine in his first extended big league action. But even so, Turner said at the Kids’ Holiday Party that he’s not taking anything for granted in anticipation of this season.

“I’m still going to go in there, just like I did last year, to win a job and make the team out of spring training,” he said. “I’m just trying to work hard everyday and get better everyday.”

Justin Turner at the Mets Kids' Holiday Party

With the return of a healthy Daniel Murphy, all signs point to Turner assuming a super utility role. Though the team has not revealed any of its plans, Turner is going to spring training thinking he will need to earn a spot on the roster by showing his versatility.

“I’m willing to do anything just as long as I’m in there to help the team win,” Turner said. “I like being in the lineup, so whatever position they want me to play, I’ll be more than willing to go out there and do my best.”

With the departure of Jose Reyes, Ruben Tejada will slide to other side of the diamond to play shortstop. Turner said that he knows Tejada is more than capable of playing on the other side and said Ruben will be an exciting player to watch.

In the meantime, Turner said that he has experience playing shortstop and has the ability to bounce around the infield, including first base. If need be, he’d even be willing to serve as the team’s emergency catcher, but he would certainly like to avoid that option.

He’s also played a handful of games in the outfield in the minors and feels confident that he’d be able to run down a fly ball, especially with the reduced fences at Citi Field.

For the first time in his career, Turner is likely to earn a professional roster spot out of spring training. However, this hasn’t changed the way he has prepared this offseason nor will he be content with simply making the team.

“I try just to focus on the things that I can control,” he said. “That’s me. Obviously, Sandy’s [Alderson] doing everything he can to constantly try to make the team better and try to have a winning, successful season in 2012.”

Turner’s main offseason goal is to improve his speed and agility in order to increase his range in the infield. He feels that an extra step will help him get to the balls that found holes last season.

On the lighter side of things, Turner plans to engage teammate R.A. Dickey in another Twitter battle, possibly in spring training. He said he’s always on Twitter checking out the latest hot stove updates.

With plenty of new faces on the Mets this season, Turner is not worried about adjusting to his new teammates. The Mets are Turner’s third team (Reds and Orioles) so he’s been used to meeting new teammates.

“I’m a pretty easy-going guy,” said Turner. “I get along with everyone pretty well so I’m not too worried about the new guys.”

Looking forward, Turner reiterated that despite his success, last season is in the past. If all the players had Turner’s attitude, this team can accomplish some big things.