The closer we get to Tuesday, the more the Mets are on the collective minds of seamheads in Philadelphia.

Phils skipper Charlie Manuel faced a barrage of Mets questions - their maligned bullpen, the psychological advantage (or lack thereof), the difficulties of facing Pedro and Santana in a two-game series.

But everyone can answer all of the questions in the world until they're blue in the face and it won't really matter. It's all about what goes on between the white lines.

So far, the Mets hold the advantage there. They've won 9 of 14 games between the two NL East foes.

But there are five games left. And the two teams are virtually in a dead heat (entering Monday night's games, New York is a 1/2 game ahead).

The Phillies won eight straight over the Mets last year, which helped pave way to the New Yorkers historic collapse.

If they win three or four of the remaining games, it could go a long way in helping the Phillies secure their second straight NL East crown.

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In his first 19 games with the Dodgers, Red Sox castoff Manny Ramirez hit a Ted Williams-like .406 with six home runs and 21 RBIs.

But that was before he came to Citizens Bank Park Friday. Manny hasn't been Manny in Philly.

In the first three games of the Dodgers-Phils series, Ramirez is just 2-for-10 (.200).

When asked about the suddenly slumping Dodgers slugger, Manuel knocked on the wooden bench inside the home team's dugout.

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Phillies fans get buried in the national media, sometimes a heck of a lot more than they deserve. They have been back in the spotlight recently, when Jimmy Rollins called the local fan base "frontrunners."

But how do you begin to explain how they've accepted Mitch Williams back into town?

Here is your Daily Times Sunday baseball column, which focuses on the Wild Thing's Philly revival.