Mike's Mets: NostraDennis Archives

Trivial Pursuits

Some people like to divide a major league baseball season into halves or quarters. Managers often try to help their team focus on the task at hand by concentrating on a ten-game stretch. Me, I'm a little weird. I like sixths. Like the small pepperoni pies at Pizza King, or...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 12:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia

My Easter Sunday mass experience this year was, in a word, awful. We got to the 12:15 pm mass at about 12:14 pm, knowing we'd be standing for an hour and a half. We squeezed up against the wall somewhere in the general vicinity of our regular seats. Then the...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Don't Pull the Trigger Until You See the Whites of Their Eyes

The eyes of the Twins, that is. I would love to see Johan Santana grow old as a Met, and be the ace of our Citi Field pitching corps. It's becoming more evident each day that the Twins may have overplayed their hand in insisting on five Mets in exchange...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 10:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

New Year, Clean Slate

I mark all the documents that go across my desk just like my boss tells me to do, with my hastily scribbled initials and today's date. For the past three months, that "07" at the end has been a constant reminder that, to me, "07" has now become the exact...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Autopsy of a Dead Met: Exhibits 1 through 8

I've been using analogies from other forms of entertainment to put the Mets' collapse this year in some kind of perspective, as I did in my last post with the movie "The Heartbreak Kid". This could be because we Mets fans have suddenly found ourselves with an unexpected gaping hole...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

The Fat Lady's Gargling in the Wings Right Now

My wife and I saw a preview of the new Farrelly brothers' movie "The Heartbreak Kid" Thursday night, starring Ben Stiller and some girl who looks like, but isn't, Cameron Diaz. No real spoilers here, although the film was mildly amusing at best. The premise is the 40 year old...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)

The Fine Art of Scoreboard Watching

"I t'ink we ought to knock his block off" - Mickey Goldmill to Rocky Balboa, Rocky II "He's spinning the ball on his finger! Just take it!" - Krusty the Clown at a Globetrotters game, The Simpsons Being a Mets fan this summer brings both these quotes to mind for...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 11:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An A-Plus for Effort

After the lockout in 1995, I was pissed at Major League Baseball. The fact that the Mets were "The Worst Team Money Could Buy" (and who could disagree with Bob Klapisch's assessment?) made it that much easier for me to shake my fist at the lords of baseball and send...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 1:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Chunky Bits of Tid

I'm not one to look a gift victory in the mouth, but did anyone else feel a bit uncomfortable with the Mets getting a "W" for only six innings of baseball last night? Heck, if my boss told me he didn't care how long I worked, just as long as...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Can You Smell What Schoeney is Cooking?

"Scott. Customers at table 60. And this time, don't screw it up." "Yes, sir, Mr. Randolph." His shoulders slumped as he headed to the table dejectedly. The middle-aged couple looked up from their menus and smiled. "Good evening, folks, and welcome to Schoeney's. I'm Scott, and I'll be serving it...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 1:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Fo', Fo', Fo'

I'm borrowing from Moses Malone' nearly correct 1983 playoff prediction (the Sixers lost one game in the middle series, so they were actually "Fo', Fi', Fo" in that postseason). I'm also borrowing from the riff our friend Greg from FAFIF put forth after last weekend's perfect results: Mets sweep, Braves...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Chunky Bits of Tid

Who likes brain teasers? Okay, here's one. What's the next number in this sequence? -1, 0, -1/2, -1, -1/2, -1/2, -1/2, +1/2, -1/2, +1/2, -1/2, +1/2, +1/2, +1/2, +1/2, -1/2, -1/2, +1/2, -1/2, -1/2, -1/2, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, -1/2, -1/2, ____. Answer: I'll tell you after...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Act One of a Six Act Play

As I'm sure I've told you all already, I'm an unabashed stats geek. I love numbers. I don't judge a team's value, or a player's, either, solely by the numbers they put up. But I love what numbers can reveal sometimes. In particular, I like the touchstones of fractions within...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Thank You for Flying Air Mets. Buh-Bye Now...

"Good morning, passenger, and welcome to US Air Flight 1643, with service from LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte, North Carolina, on through to New Orleans, Louisiana on US Air Flight 1503. My name is Jane Jarvis, and I'll be your flight crew chief for today's travel. Our scheduled departure time is...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 1:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's Not How Long You Make It, It's How You Make It Long

Mr. Met opened the classroom door slowly, trying not to call attention to himself. No such luck. The door creaked loudly, and all eyes in the room turned to him. "Come in, come in," said the wizened old man standing near the semi-circle of chairs in the center of the...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

My Day in the Sun

As Bob Murphy loved to say, it was a beautiful day for baseball. Not a cloud in the sky. A Saturday afternoon in Florida at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie. The Mets. The Nationals. Baseball like it oughta be when the score doesn't count. Fortunately, this score didn't count....

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By NostraDennis, posted at 1:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Grabbing My Slice of Grapefruit

There are only a couple of things I miss about New York since our family moved to Florida twelve years ago. One thing, of course, is family. My brother and his wife, my sister in law, her husband, and their kids, and Mom all live on Long Island. I do...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 9:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Hats Off to MLB

At the risk of being accused of grumpy old man disease, let me say I like to consider myself a baseball purist. I hate the designated hitter. I much prefer a well-placed sacrifice bunt. I love the late-inning double-switch. I smile at that first trip to the mound, especially if...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 6:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Little David the Goliath (and Tiger) Killer

Ever meet one of your favorite celebrities (sports star, actor, politician) and come away with a sour taste in your mouth? The exact opposite happened to me last week. My day job, which I won't be quitting any time soon until Mike pays us correspondents more, is behind the scenes...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 6:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

Average Joe

We fans are all outside this fuzzy snow globe called Major League Baseball, with our noses pressed up against the glass. Even those of us who have the opportunity to sneak into the winter meetings and make believe they're a real journalist are simply outside looking in, drooling over the...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 2:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Faulty Intelligence

I've got a friend who's a good friend of the brother of a member of the New York Yankees. Lest you think I'm about to spin one of those urban legends, be assured: this friend has shown us videotape of him cruising along Lake Michigan's shores in a party boat...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 2:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

My Favorite Met

Each of us has his or her own personal history with the Mets. First memory of the team...first game watched on TV...first game seen in person...first souvenir (mine were those flimsy plastic "batting helmets", which I never noticed until too late came with a warning not to use them in...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)

A Minute Passed

Editor's Note: Our own NostraDennis, on the scene in Orlando, gives us a brief glimpse into the enchanted world of MLB's winter meetings. - M.S. She stood in the pale, translucent light on the Persian carpet. A minute passed. Then another. Then, another minute. Then ... another minute passed. Then...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Wax On, Wax Off

All I knew about Rick Peterson three months ago was this: he was a real good pitching coach who squeezed a lot out of his staff. He was good at taking players from the scrap heap and reinventing them somehow, making chicken salad out of, you know, other parts of...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 3:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Ten Things I Like About Zito

(Thanks to Wikipedia, JockBio.com, the Oakland Tribune, MLB.com, and Robert Zemeckis) 10) His Strikeouts for Troops charity sends $200 to wounded GI's for each one of his strikeouts. 9) Zito has never missed a scheduled start in his career. That's the kind of dependability the Mets need, especially with the...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 4:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Chunky Bits of Tid

Editor's Note: Dennis McCarthy (aka NostraDennis) has been leaving terrific (if slightly deranged) comments on this site for a while. This is his inaugural full length effort. - M.S. I can make a good steak, too. But it's getting a little nippy outside, so how about a nice hot hearty...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

About Dennis McCarthy (NostraDennis)

I was born in the Bronx in 1960, but moved to Long Island four years later. I became a Mets fan in '69, thanks to my Aunt Ellen, who still lived in the Bronx. Got in trouble with Mrs. Kozak in 8th grade in 1973 for sneaking a transistor radio...

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By NostraDennis, posted at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mike's Mets

New York Mets discussion, news and historical perspective -- now getting by with a little help from my friends.

May 4, 2008

Trivial Pursuits

March 24, 2008

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia

January 24, 2008

Don't Pull the Trigger Until You See the Whites of Their Eyes

December 29, 2007

New Year, Clean Slate

October 4, 2007

Autopsy of a Dead Met: Exhibits 1 through 8

September 28, 2007

The Fat Lady's Gargling in the Wings Right Now

July 20, 2007

The Fine Art of Scoreboard Watching

July 7, 2007

An A-Plus for Effort

June 28, 2007

Chunky Bits of Tid

June 8, 2007

Can You Smell What Schoeney is Cooking?

May 31, 2007

Fo', Fo', Fo'

May 12, 2007

Chunky Bits of Tid

May 4, 2007

Act One of a Six Act Play

May 1, 2007

Thank You for Flying Air Mets. Buh-Bye Now...

April 7, 2007

It's Not How Long You Make It, It's How You Make It Long

March 19, 2007

My Day in the Sun

March 9, 2007

Grabbing My Slice of Grapefruit

February 2, 2007

Hats Off to MLB

January 5, 2007

Little David the Goliath (and Tiger) Killer

January 4, 2007

Average Joe

December 28, 2006

Faulty Intelligence

December 15, 2006

My Favorite Met

December 5, 2006

A Minute Passed

December 3, 2006

Wax On, Wax Off

November 30, 2006

Ten Things I Like About Zito

November 28, 2006

Chunky Bits of Tid

November 24, 2006

About Dennis McCarthy (NostraDennis)

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