MiddleCoastBias

I have looked at a number of programs in England (LSE is obviously one of the best school's in the world, acceptance into the MPA program is 8%). Exeter seems to have a good program as well. I was pretty shocked that Trinity and UCD didn't offer the program. I guess at this point my interest really is just to live in Ireland (though I would prefer to live in Dublin). In the statement that Limerick is like the Detroit of Ireland, how relative is that? As in, is it really as bad as Detroit or is it just relative to the other cities in Ireland?

I'm currently at that stage in my young career that I'm debating going back to school or continuing to find work (full disclosure- I work in politics, specifically campaigns and political research so I have some downtime between gigs). I've been looking at going back to school to get my masters in public administration (MPA). I have a number of good/great domestic schools that I've been interested in but I've looked abroad as another option. My thought is that I will never get the chance to work abroad for any period of time (I know many fields end up having offices worldwide that may require international work) working in American politics so I might as well get a taste of the world in grad school before I spend decades toiling away at work in the States. Specifically, I'm looking at Ireland- unfortunately, I've only found the University of Limerick to offer an MPA, limiting my choices. As an employer, would you think less of a degree from an international school (especially given that, according to world rankings, Limerick is far below schools I could attend domestically?) My reasoning is that I'm looking for a greater exposure to world politics and international thought (and I just really want to live in Ireland for a bit). If you were an employer related to the field of American politics, how would an MPA from an international school compare to an MPA from a comparable school in the States in terms of hiring?

Welp, I've posted enough elsewhere tonight, figured I should make my way here to fess up. It'll be interesting to see what I've posted/texted when I wake up, always an adventure. Just thought of another one...

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Mar 14, 2011 -> 10:59 PM) It's bizarre but you are not alone in this thinking. For whatever reason people have it in their minds that whenever Thornton has stepped into the closer's role in a Sox uniform he has struggled. Well, this could not be further from the truth. Just last year in the final 5 months of the season Matt Thornton had 8 save opportunities that took place in the 8th inning or later (they can take place before the 8th or 9th but these are not the duties of a closer, there was 1 7th inning blown save) here are his numbers from those 8 outings: 9.1 IP 0 R 1 H 2 BB 11 K 0.320 WHIP 10.6 K/9 8sv/8svo Yes, this is incredibly impressive. How about his career numbers in TRUE closer situations (ie: coming into the game with zero outs in the 9th inning with a lead): 6 IP 0 R 0 H 3 BB 9 K .500 WHIP 13.5 K/9 6sv/6svo Even more impressive. When Matt Thornton has been thrust into the role of closer in a White Sox uniform he has not allowed a single f***ing hit. Awesome. I've said this many, many times over the past 2 years: Matt Thornton may or may not be a good closer but there is absolutely NOTHING in the numbers that insists that he'd fail, in fact the opposite is true if you ignore the sample size. See that's what I needed- hard facts to refute my 'eye test'. Is that from B-R? Can you do that with Sale as well? I personally love Thornton in the setup role and Sale at closer but a good deal of this opinion has been based on my thought that Thorny is best fit (statistically) in the setup role. While the sample size for success may be low and it not necessarily be a sign of what may ultimately be (Santos' first half), it is encouraging that he has success in that role. And now it looks like the organization is leaning his way anyway.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Mar 14, 2011 -> 10:42 PM) They are going to start him!?!!? AHHHHHH BUT HE CAN'T START!! HE WAS SO GOOD IN THE 23 INNINGS HE PITCHED OUT OF THE BULLPEN!!!! f*** THE VALUE, I WANT THE INSTANT GRATIFICATION!!!! /sarcasm Btw, forgot to follow up on that tweet. Gonzalez then tweeted like 10 minutes later that Sale would be pitching middle innings follow E-Jax' start that same day instead of starting (it's a split squad day and Ozzie wants to see him; his scheduled start would have been at the other location). But yeah, point made.

Are his stats inflated as a result of the innings pitched? IE what are his stats by the inning (4th compared to 9th) that he pitched? I can't prove it but I feel like I remember Thornton did not do well when he stepped in last year for a week at closer when Bobby had his family issues. It seemed to me like Thornton mentally operated best in the 8th inning; is that the same case with Sale? (Again, this equation can be negated if I can find that Thornton had similar numbers in the 8th and the 9th). This may be the same case with Sale. It's just my perception that some pitchers pitch better in a given situation- be it set up, clean up, or pressure save. See- Bobby Jenks in a no-pressure clean up in a loss.

Mark Gonzales MDGonzales 5 minutes ago

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Mar 10, 2011 -> 02:42 PM) Ok, well it says the game today is on CSN....but I'm not seeing it... I believe that is for the split squad game this evening.

Useful shot, lad.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Mar 7, 2011 -> 02:24 PM) Rios hits a popfly that carries like 100 feet and is a Home run! 2nd HR for Rios on the spring. Castro and Alexei both have home runs in the AZ game.

QUOTE (flavum @ Mar 7, 2011 -> 02:13 PM) Home run for Alexei in Tucson. I was under the impression that with the dry air of Arizona there are always fewer home runs yet Melton made it sound like just the opposite (saying that ball wouldn't have carried like that during the season in Cleveland). What's the case?

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Mar 6, 2011 -> 11:29 PM) You like Danks' left-handed bat? Is it sexier looking when a left-handed hitter strikes out as opposed to a right-handed hitter? Seriously, I thought that ship has sailed. Did anyone else catch the Angels' broadcast on MLBN the other day (might have been like the 6th inning) when the announcers were raving about Danks being our 'top prospect'? I was embarrassed to hear that (obviously not top rated within our own system, but to hear that's what an outside crew thought).

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Mar 6, 2011 -> 01:15 PM) so who is playing 1B? And which catcher isn't catching? I believe Dunn is 1B, AJP is DH, Flowers is C.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Mar 5, 2011 -> 04:47 PM) You are the MVP of the offseason, my friend. Has anyone seriously brought more knowledge to this board since Peavy went down? The answer is no. Seriously. I love that fact that I can come to this board knowing there are a handful of people with information/insight (regarding injuries, trade rumors, clubhouse garbage) that I can't get anywhere else. The best part is that other people know this (cough Joe Cowley) and it upsets them that Soxtalk has some amazing resources. Keep it up, guys!

Alexei Ramirez made SportsCenter's Top 10 at #9 for his play in the 4th inning. One game in, I expect to see many more of those.

Harry Potter Twilight (and don't go see I Am Number Four, they tricked me- it's basically Twilight mixed with Jumper, garbage) Pickles Ford Mustangs and Chevy Camaros Ohare Coffee Steak Joakim Noah Canada (shout out to Joe Cowley)

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Feb 27, 2011 -> 04:05 PM) Ding, ding, ding. Tried thinking outside the box. I was going to post Sale standing next to Jenks for the #10, but I forgot to do it. Or you could have just done one of Sale.

QUOTE (knightni @ Feb 25, 2011 -> 06:12 PM) They all say "New Era." http://www.hatsvip.com/new-era-baseball-ha...ats-c-7_13.html Why aren't they getting shut down? I think there has been a growing effort to shut down places like this. For example, there was a website http://borntrade.net that would sell what I assume to be knockoff jerseys and hats for cheap. That domain has since been shut down on the authority of the Dept. of Homeland Security. Having said that, you can google 'born trade' and see that they have a new website up and running selling the same stuff.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Feb 26, 2011 -> 11:33 AM) Must be the calm before the storm, Soxtalk seems dead today. And yesterday. There were like 7 posts yesterday. Yankees/Phillies today if you need a quick fix.

For the Irish fans out there-

QUOTE (JorgeFabregas @ Feb 23, 2011 -> 10:24 PM) Just in case anyone was wondering, here is Dunn's OPS vs AL teams BAL 51 AB .850 BOS 24 AB .906 CWS 23 AB .170 CLE 129 AB .894 DET 23 AB 1.230 KC 22 AB 1.059 LAA 24 AB .798 NYY 29 AB .604 OAK 28 AB .604 SEA 28 AB .721 TB 35 AB .589 TEX 31 AB 1.848 TOR 35 AB 1.026 Yahoo doesn't list any stats against the Twins. Um, is that OPS against us for real? Do we know what his OPS is at the Cell? I hope this is just a result of our pitchers careering their nuts off against Dunn.

QUOTE (Rooftop Shots @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 10:28 AM) Hey, Bacon man! I hope that you see this posting. I found something. The "ORIGINAL" Bacon ater. Don't know what his number was, but he was in the Sox farm system from 1961-1963 and manged as well. I saw this picture and couldn't resist posting it under your quote, His name...."DON BACON!!!" NEW.FAVORITE.PLAYER.