Omar Minaya and I were both wrong. Except the Mets pay Minaya a lot of money to be right. When I’m wrong, I don’t even hear about it from my wife because she doesn’t pay attention to what I write. Never has. Oliver Perez? She has no clue.

But I know, and Minaya knows. The Mets’ general manager opted to retain Perez as a free agent last winter, and I endorsed his decision. Bad decision. Minaya’s alternate choice for that spot in the Mets’ rotation was Derek Lowe. Based on the pitchers’ first-month performances, Minaya opted for the wrong choice.

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For the Washington Nationals, the team with the worst record in the major leagues, to have two rookie starting pitchers and two rookie relievers is not surprising. What is surprising is for the St. Louis Cardinals, with their rookies, to have the majors’ best record.

Shairon Martis (three) and Jordan Zimmerman (two) have five of the Nationals’ six victories (through Saturday). Mike Hinckley, who has a 2.79 earned run average, is tied for the most appearances, 13, on the team’s pitching staff. Garrett Mock, with a 7.20 e.r.a. in 5 games, has not pitched as effectively.

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As the Red Sox were battering the Yankees’ relief pitchers in the middle game of their three-game weekend series at Fenway Park, I sent my son an e-mail.

“Did the Yankees get their relief pitchers,” I asked, “from some Bronx softball league?”

After that game, the Yankees’ relief corps had a 6.68 earned run average, third worst in the American League. The relievers had allowed 67 hits, 12th most, including a league-high 14 home runs, while pitching 62 innings, fourth most, and facing 283 batters, second most.

In other words, the relievers were working an abundance of innings and creating an abundance of damage.

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