Right up front, I will tell you that an unusual e-mail prompted this column. I do appreciate ideas wherever they come from, and this idea is one I welcome the opportunity to write about.

Mike Piazza was at Citi Field in New York this past weekend, one of a contingent from the Mets team that played the Yankees in the 2000 World Series. Piazza’s presence prompted the e-mail.

Headed on the subject line by “Piazza gets another free pass this week from New York (pro-Mets) media,” the e-mail said:

“Mike Piazza sneaks into town again, at Citi Field for the Mets-Yanks opener and the New York media comes up short again.

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If the Tampa Bay Rays are for real – and I believe they are – they are a more remarkable story than they appear to be. The Rays, a last-place team for nine of the first 10 years of their existence, have staged one of the best starts to an American League season in the last half a century.

The Rays’ 31-12 record before Sunday matched the fifth best 43-game start since 1961, according to Major League Baseball.

But even the impressive record doesn’t tell the entire Rays’ story. To put that in perspective, you need to understand the Rays’ parentage. The Rays were created and operated in their first eight years by Vincent Naimoli, who would easily win a vote as the worst living owner or ex-owner of a baseball team.

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When was the last time that two $12 million-a-year pitchers were dumped from their teams’ starting rotations at the same time and relegated to the bullpen? Has it ever happened? I don’t know, but while we ponder it, meet Oliver Perez and Javier Vazquez. Barring a minor miracle to come, Perez (Mets) and Vazquez (Yankees) represent questionable or really foolish judgments by their teams.

The Mets, despite plenty of eyewitness warnings, gave Perez a three-year, $36 million contract when he was a free agent before last season. The Yankees conveniently forgot the last time they saw Vazquez and acquired him from Atlanta for Melky Cabrera.

The Yankees can be forgiven their foolishness far sooner than the Mets theirs. The Mets have no excuse.

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