One of the factors I look at with how good a Mets team is, would be run differential.  This tells us how much the pitching is holding down the opposition and how much the offense is dominating the other team's pitching.  For example, the Nationals last year had a lead in the first two months of the season last year, but the run differential was 9 runs on the negative side.  In other words, the Nationals won a lot of one run games and were rather lucky. 

     Of course, as the year goes on there are other issues that must be put into consideration, like health.  The Dodgers who started 10 and 2 last year as well, had a +35 run differential at this time, however much like this year, every important player on that team went down with injuries for the year.  However, in most cases a run differential measurement at the beginning of the year is a better measurement on how a team is doing.  So let's look at the numbers.

For the NL East:

Mets +28, Braves 0,  Phillies -14,  Marlins -13,  Nationals -24

    Clearly, the Mets are dominating the NL East and given the strong pitching and solid hitting, this is no surprise.  At this point, I'd say the Mets are the most complete team as they seem to dominate on both offense and defense, including pitching.  The Braves meanwhile, have a great offense but give up just about the same number of runs.   

For the top of the NL:

Mets +28, Cards +15, Houston +15, Cubs +15, Colorado +12, Reds +6, Braves 0

   As we can see, the Mets lead the NL by 13 runs, which I give most credit to the pitching here as the Cards and Astro's offense is very strong.  The Cubs aren't bad either as Maddux has found his stuff again.  Hmm, I wonder if Glavine and Madux have been talking?  Anyway, what this tells me is that there will be a dog fight in the NL Central between the Cardinals, Astros, and Cubs.  The Reds will be hanging around, but I don't think they can win this race.  Meanwhile, I'd give a warning to the NL West, especially the Giants, about Colorado.  Not only are they outscoring their opponents, but pitching well too!

For the tops in MLB:

Mets +28, Yankees +28, Cleveland +16, Cards +15, Houston +15, Cubs +15, Colorado +12, White Soxs +10

    As you can see, the Yankees are right up there with the Mets.  However, I put the Mets ahead of the Yankees because the Mets have allowed less RA.  In fact, the Mets have the lowest RA (44) in baseball.  Cleveland looks like the real deal in the Central and this is while they are hurt.  When C.C. Sabatha comes back, the Indians may be a real force to deal with.  The rest of the NL central follows the list.  The White Sox are hanging around at +10, while is still pretty good.  I'm interested whether they can get the same production out of the starting pitching as last year.  In the end, facts prove the Mets truly are the best team in baseball!

RS= Runs Score   RA= Runs Against