MONTREAL – Just before Sunday’s double-header in Pittsburgh, Met manager Art Howe was talking about Craig Brazell and Victor Diaz, and noting that if the two youngsters didn’t play that day, they’d get chances to play soon.

“There’s Montreal ahead of us,” Howe assured reporters.

Howe, of course, meant that Montreal was “ahead” on the schedule. But at this rate, it may have been simply been a prescient remark by the lame-duck manager.

Soon, the ‘Spos may be ahead of the Mets in the standings, too.

Indeed, the Mets – contenders just a couple months ago – have free-fallen to the point where by the time they leave Montreal on Thursday, they could be in last place, behind the woeful Expos.

As hard as it may be to believe, the Mets are 23 games out of first, going nowhere and guided by a manager who’s already been fired.

But for the first time in awhile, they’ll actually play a series that means something. When the Mets and Expos meet for three games starting tonight, they’ll be battling for the most extreme consolation prize possible.

They’ll be battling to avoid the cellar.

“Obviously we don’t want to finish in last,” David Wright said.

“You don’t want to finish in last place,” Braden Looper said.

“Nobody in here wants to finish in last place,” Tom Glavine said. “These games will take on a little bit more importance.”

Again, avoiding last place is about the smallest moral victory you can possibly find. But believe it or not, the Mets (65-85) enter tonight just two games ahead of the cellar-dwelling Expos (63-87), and if you think they don’t care whether the Expos pass them, think again.

Finishing in last would be an outright disaster for the Mets for two main reasons. Number one, they made a slew of offseason adjustments and improvements to escape the cellar, where they resided the last two years. Number two, as of just two months ago, they were only three games out of first place.

Then again, as Looper noted, “A lot’s happened since then.’

The way the Expos are playing, the Mets may want to start prepping for a last-place three-peat. While the Mets limp toward the finish line, the Expos are coming off eye-opening back-to-back series wins over the Marlins and Phillies.

The Expos are hardly a good team, but they play hard and they have some talent. Of particular note right now is third baseman Tony Batista, who since the All-Star break has 61 RBIs in just 63 games.

Meanwhile, the Mets are coming off a double-header loss Sunday in which they scored one run – total.

“[Avoiding last place is] just a pride factor there,” Looper said. “So we definitely need to go to Montreal and play good baseball.”

“If you’re going to have any sense of improvement, then [getting out of last place is] where you’ve got to start,” Glavine said. “Although it’s small and somewhat meaningless, it is a step in the right direction anyway.”

Tonight they’ll see if they can take it.