Remember that.

But?

"If we keep falling back, we're going to get in trouble," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "We still have a good chance. Friday is the most important game. We have 22 games left and three games to make up. It's still there for us, but it's getting harder."

Saturday and Sunday are pretty important, too, but Manuel's point is obvious. After losing two of three to Washington, Philadelphia staggers to New York to face a team coming off a sweep of Milwaukee that allowed it to build a three-game cushion in the National League East, the largest deficit to overcome since the Phillies and Mets trailed the Marlins by that margin on May 11.

With Florida fading from the postseason picture, Philadelphia and New York are set to resume an increasingly bitter rivalry in which the Mets hold a 10-5 edge through the first 15 games. Almost all of the games have been close, with momentum swings seemingly at every turn. In each of the first five series, the Mets have lost the first game and recovered to either win or tie the series.

"It'll be a big series, but it's not going to make or break the season," Chris Coste said. "If we get swept, that could obviously have a damaging effect on the season, but if we win all three, it's not like we automatically win the division. It's a big series, no question, but regardless of the direction it takes, there's still a lot more we have to do to win the division."

Offensively, the Mets appear to be the team jelling at the right time. Their big four hitters -- Carlos Delgado (.304 with 17 homers and 51 RBIs), Carlos Beltran (.286/10/42), Jose Reyes (.323/4/22 with 19 steals) and David Wright (.303/12/40) -- have outperformed the Phillies' quartet of Pat Burrell (.238/11/28), Jimmy Rollins (.283/4/24), Chase Utley (.287/8/25) and Ryan Howard (.265/19/51) since July 1.

Pitching has been a similar story, though not as extreme. Johan Santana (5-0, 2.30 ERA), Oliver Perez (4-2, 2.55) and Mike Pelfrey (8-2, 2.82) have fared slightly better than Cole Hamels (4-3, 2.49), Brett Myers (5-1, 1.78) and Jamie Moyer (3-1, 3.29).

There's no question among Philadelphia's players that Phillies-Mets has developed into a significant rivalry, where antics like Reyes wagging his finger after a home run and perceived early celebrating by players at times has given the Phils a point of inspiration. It's likely the case on the other end, too, when Howard watches a home run or J.C. Romero emotionally reacts to a particular moment in the game.

The losses to the Mets, said Brad Lidge, a rivalry newcomer, are tougher to take.

"There's definitely a lot of pride," Lidge said. "There wasn't just an underlying theme with the Astros. There was nobody that it really [made you upset] to lose to. Here, it really makes people angry, especially the players and fans, to lose to the Mets. It's very frustrating for us, because there's been a lot said between the two teams. There was never anything like that in Houston.

"For whatever reason, you take a loss more personally when it's against them. Anytime you have a loss, if you don't perform well, you take it personally, but whether I'm in the game or not, when we lose to them, I take it personally."

Unlike last season, the Phillies won't count on a Mets collapse. They've been playing inspired baseball, and the players know it.

"With how well the Mets have been playing, we're not expecting them to have a horrible finish," Coste said. "We expect them to play well, and we have to play well."

Coste added that he wished the Phillies didn't have to scoreboard watch.

"We expect more of ourselves this year," Coste said. "In that regard, it feels different. Last year, we knew we were a good team, but we hadn't proved anything yet. We were chasing the Mets by a larger margin and were looking toward the Wild Card. Now, I think we'd be more disappointed this year as opposed to if we didn't make it last year."

"The thing is to be even-keeled," said Manuel. "As long as we play hard and put forth our best effort, that's all you can do. That's what every team does. Then you have to see what happens."

At this time a year ago, the Phillies were a game better record-wise, but they trailed the Mets by five games. This year's three-game deficit is not insurmountable, since Philadelphia climbed a bigger mountain last season.

"The experience of coming down the stretch is like the previous two years," Howard said. "It's been about the same. We know there's time, but at the same time, we have to have that urgency of wanting to get in. We know we can play with them. We know we can beat them. We know they're a good team. We feel they know that we're a good them. They're going to be a good team. Hopefully, we can come out on top."