Put on your memory cap. Think about how we viewed the NL East just six months ago.
There were three tiers. You had the Braves and Phillies in rebuilding mode, the Marlins and Mets trying to ascend to contention and the Nationals as the unquestioned king of the division – arguably the best team in baseball, at least on paper.
Could this season have gone any better for the Mets? No, wait. Not just this season. Perhaps the near future, as well. Suddenly, you can imagine the Mets as the dominant team in the NL East for a while because a) They are good and b) Who the heck in the division is going to do anything about it?