As most of you know, for most of the offseason, I’ve taken an optimistic approach toward the Mets for this new season. In our 2012 MMO Predictions, I picked the Mets to win the second Wild Card in the National League. For comeback player of the year, my choice was Johan Santana. I’m on record as saying that by the end of this season, the Mets will have increased their attendance over last year. I shared Sandy Alderson’s sentiments that this would be a fun team to watch, but was a little annoyed that we didn’t do a better job of bolstering what I believed was a team that could contend for a Wild Card this season.

And yet on top of all those things, I’m so surprised to wake up this morning and find my beloved Mets in a dead heat for first place. I can’t even describe how proud I am of this team right now. I’ve embraced these 2012 Mets from the very beginning. I took flack for daring to say this team feels a lot like the 1983 team back in early April. I may have in fact been wrong in saying 1983 because in hindsight I’d like to change that to 1984 instead.

I’m so excited not just for the team we have assembled now, but even more-so for the players that have yet to arrive. I’ve never seen such an array of top-level talent in our minor leagues in decades. I’m not just talking about your garden variety, ho-hum prospects that we’ve seen come and go in the last decade. I’m talking about legit prospects that are not a product of the Mets Hype Machine, but rather a dozen or so prospects that have rival team executives and rival scouts abuzz and envious of what we have in the pipeline.

We are living in some incredible times with regards to the Mets. The LOLMets days have come to an end and any Mets Blogger who continues to use that hashtag should be ashamed of themselves.

I love this team so much, that I simply have no more tolerance for the negativity I see from so-called fans who wouldn’t know what a promising team looked like even if it came up and bit them on the asterisk.

A lifelong dream was recently realized in the form of Johan Santana who gave me what I’ve longed to see all these many, many years – our first no-hitter. In that regard, if you haven’t read Joe Spector’s and Ed Leyro’s takes on that wonderful night, you really should.

Sandy Alderson said on more than one occasion that he has the money to bolster this team at the Trade Deadline if we’re in a position to win a coveted a play-off spot. I would advise him to call Mr. Wilpon right away and tell him to get his checkbook out because we are looking at a serious contender here, but we also need some help to seal the deal.

Don’t let this team down Sandy because I swear I’ll come after you on August 1st with everything I got if you fail this team this season. I’ve kept my mouth shut for most of the year so far and given you a free pass. But if you pull an M. Donald Grant where David Wright and Johan Santana are concerned, I swear I’ll open up a great huge can of whoop-ass on this site.

The great Bill Parcell’s always used to say, “You are what your record says you are”. The Mets record says that they are serious contenders for the division. They have the best record against division foes and the best record against teams that are over .500. That doesn’t happen by accident.

Tomorrow is the start of a big three game series with the Washington Nationals who since the start of the season have been in first place from wire to wire. Now the Mets have a one-third stake in that, and on Tuesday we’ll show them that we’re not a team to be taken lightly, but instead a force to be reckoned with.

I’ll have my post entitled, “The Best 1-2 Punch In The National League” up later today or tomorrow morning. If pitching is really everything, the Mets currently have the best top of the rotation in the division and the Nats are about to find that out for themselves this week.

Let me just close by saying that if you’ve turned a blind eye toward this Mets team, and in some cases your backs as well, you have no idea what you’ve been missing. Maybe you should consider rooting for that other team in the Bronx because we don’t need part-time fans and band-wagoners in this fanbase – the best and most Amazin fanbase in baseball.

Lets Go Mets!