And Phil Connors Wakes Up on February 3rd.

We have been rising every morning to the exact same song, played by the exact same DJs, in the exact same Bed & Breakfast in the town we are not from. We've tried everything we can to figure out why the same day keeps repeating itself, and we've gone so far as to kill ourselves...several times over. Realizing there is nothing we can do as years of the same day pile up, we decide to send all our focus into becoming a better person. Finally, it all comes together on one fateful night. When the clock strikes 6 in the morning this time, there's Andie MacDowell, her arm reaching over to shut that freakin' flip-clock off. It is February 3rd, and for at least one day, that Hell has turned into Heaven.

We have seen something none of us had before. We had never seen a Mets rookie strike out more than 8 opponents in his debut. And for those who had seen 8 strikeouts by a Mets rookie in his debut, it was witnessed twice back in 1967, when both Tom Seaver and Bill Denehy struck 8 out to commence their careers.

Clearly, Matt Harvey was ready. In more ways than one. His stuff was nasty, getting strikeouts with 3 of his 4 pitches. So far, he is the most fun pitcher I have seen come through the Mets system in a long, long time. More importantly, his demeanor was ready. Absolutely nothing phased him. Yeah. Of course it would have been awesome to see him pitch a perfect game his 1st time out (and who knows what the fates had in store if that 3rd batter doesn't hit it weakly to the over-shifted left side.) Watching his calm focus with runners in scoring position, however, might have been an even bigger thrill.

And it appears us Met fans are just as interested in what he can do with the bat as we are with his nasty pitching. Damn, What a debut.

Welcome to The Show.

The 2012 New York Mets have done 2 things no other Metropolitan team has done in their 50 years. No other Mets team has a no-hitter, and no other has a rookie strike out more than 8 in his debut. They also, however, have a post-All-Star nosedive similar to 1962. There's nothing I can say that hasn't already been said about that stretch. It was brutal. But we've finally reached February 3rd.

I haven't come this far to let what just happened completely wash away my belief in this team. Yeah. February 4th could be just as brutal. And who knows about February 5th, 6th, 7th and so on. But at least we're no longer at a standstill. At least time is moving on.

And for at least this morning, there's a pretty TV producer lying next to us in our bed.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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