The Mets were off last night.

The New York Daily News finally printed an article about what I've been preaching here for a while. (Check out the Mets article at www.nydailynews.com if you want.) The Mets are 2 games under .500, but only 3 games out of first. So even though the Mets haven't shown they can crack the .500 mark, they're still very capable of taking the division. Here's the standings:

Philadelphia - 39-35
Florida - 40-36 (Philly is one percentage point in front)
Mets - 36-38 (3 GB)
Atlanta - 36-39 (3.5 GB)

The Mets showed last week they can beat Cincinnati - if they don't beat themselves. And after three games today, tomorrow, and Thursday in Cincy (with Jae Seo versus Todd Van Poppel tonight), there are three games at home vs. the Yankees. Hopefully the Mets can come out of that stretch with a winning record, and maybe even at 40-40 overall.

Then the Mets play seven games that could end with them atop the division. They play four games at Philadelphia, followed by three at Florida before the All-Star Game. (After the break, they play six more against those two teams.)

I'm done making predictions with this team (my June johnnymets Guarantee is not going to come true)...but by the All-Star break, or the few games afterwards, we should know whether the Mets are going to contend through the summer.

WRIGHT WATCH: Last night David Wright was 2-for-3, with a walk and a run scored. He's now hitting .365 at Triple-A. He just might be THE SECOND GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED.