Game of Thrones shirts from Winter Artwork
A while back we collaborated with Sean, one of our favorite artists, to create a cool new Jacoby Ellsbury t-shirt. Sean’s bold, cartoony style was perfect for our Flash inspired “Fear The Speed” design.
I recently stumbled across some new design by Sean on his Winter Artwork Blog and I had to share them with you guys. These awesome new Game of Thrones shirts feature designs the four “mascots” from the Game of Thrones books/TV series and can be easily ordered on various colored shirts in the Winter Artwork redbubble e-store.
Bottom Line: I’m a huge fan of the show and I’m still working my way through the books. If you guys are too, grab a t-shirt and support this amazing artist!
David Ortiz has proved his worth
When we found out that Jonathan Papelbon was going to sign with the Phillies, one of my initial thoughts was:
“Well, now the Sox have no excuse NOT to re-sign David Ortiz.”
Rumor has it the Papelbon didn’t bother to ask the Red Sox if they wanted to match the offer from the Phillies… and rumor also has it that the Sox assumed Paps was a goner. That tells me they had no intentions of paying $40-$50 million for a closer. And that means there’s money in the piggy bank for Big Papi…
Offense was not a problem in 2011, but that doesn’t mean you let one of the best bast in your line up walk away. Ortiz remains the best DH in the game and is still capable of hitting close to .300 with 25-30 homers and 90-100 RBI. He hit .238 in 2009, but still posted 28 HR and 99 RBI. In 2010 he hit .270 with 32 ding dongs and 102 RBI. And last year he hit .309 with 29 HR and 96 RBI.
Despite turning 36 tomorrow (11/18), David Ortiz had his best season since 2007 (.332 / 37 / 117) last year… and the biggest surprise came against lefties. After struggling mightily in ’09 and ’10, Ortiz flipped the script and posted a .329/.289 split – hitting for a better average against LHP for the first time since 2005 – the best season of his career (.330 / 47 / 148).
After all the PHD talk, Ortiz has improved his game over the past three seasons and that’s proof enough for me that he’s worth a 2 x $12M contract with an option for a 3rd year. The question is: Will another team offer Ortiz a better deal?
Bottom Line: The Sox have a ton of big contracts on the books and plenty of holes to fill… but there’s room for a new closer, some pitching depth AND new deal for Ortiz. What’s another $170 million among friends, right?
Don’t sign him because the fans want love him or because he’s good for ratings and t-shirt sales. Sign him because we play in the AL East and he’s still the best DH in the game.
2011 Red Sox Prediction Results: John Lackey
Every year we poll the fans and collect their predictions for the upcoming baseball season. Fans do their best to predict what kind of stats all the key Red Sox players will post and once the season ends we see who came close. The fans with the most accurate predictions win free swag from Bottom Line Apparel…
Daisuke Matsuzaka hit the DL in mid-May with a 3-3 record and a 5.30 ERA after 7 starts. He never came back… which is a bummer, because we had a good amount of predictions logged for Dice-K. The averages worked out to be 27 GS, 170IP, 12 W, 8L, 4.04 ERA, 146 Ks and 76 free passes.
Given how everything went down, those kind of numbers from our 5th starter would have been amazing!
But I digress…
Next up? John Lackey.
Before the season started, we looked at how the improved patience of the hitters in the AL East versus the AL West may have been a key factor in Lackey’s mediocre performance in 2010. I suggested that an improved curveball and less fastballs might help…
Lackey did throw fewer fastballs, but opted to increase his use of the slider by 50% and throw the curve a little less. A -7.2 value on the curve would explain his lack of confidence in that pitch, but his fastball was twice as bad as it was in 2010 (-9.6 / -23.4), so the question is: Has Lackey simply lost it or did he just lose his head in 2011 due to personal problems?
Bottom Line: Lackey will spend 2012 on the DL recovering from Tommy John Surgery (and eating fried chicken), so we’ll have to wait another year to see if he’ll ever finish a season under 4.00 again.
Don’t get your hopes up.
Here’s the chart showing Lackey’s actual 2011 stats in red, my predictions in italics and the fan predictions.
As you can see, many expected another mediocre season from Lackey, but no one predicted an ERA over 6.00 and most of us hoped for at least 150 Ks.
Other than the wins and losses, no one came close, so we can’t award a free t-shirt, but if we had to pick a winner for this round, it would be “redsoxtalk.”
Stay tuned for more results as the Hot Stove heats up this winter…
Papelbon signs with Phillies; What now Boston?
Jonathan Papelbon has reportedly signed a 4-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies.
After failing to come to terms on a new deal with the less experienced Ryan Madson and agent Scott Boras, the Phillies tuned to Paps and a deal was finalized within days.
The terms of the deal are not clear yet, but it was reported that the Phillies had offered Madson something like 4 years and $40 million. If Papelbon sets the market wit ha similar deal, Boras will likely continue to as for a deal of that caliber, despite Madson’s single year of experience in the closer’s role.
Boston is now a logical landing spot for Madson, but the relationship between the Red Sox and Boras is cloudy at best with other experienced closers available, the Sox may attempt to spend less and use the money elsewhere.
Here’s a quick look at those other options, courtesy of MLB Trade Rumors:
Heath Bell (34) – Bell has converted 40+ saves in three straight seasons as the Padres closer. San Diego is the exact opposite of Boston, so the main question is: Can Bell handle the pressure? I think he can, and if he finds it difficult, he and fellow ex-Padre Adrian Gonzalez can bitch about ESPN and Sunday Night Baseball together…
All joking aside, he’s my pick.
Jonathan Broxton (28) – Broxton hasn’t pitched since May and that was an ugly May. He’s been a mess since posting 36 saves and 114 Ks in 73 appearances in 2009. Personally, I want nothing to do with Broxton, but he’s exactly the kind of guy the Sox have signed in recent years: Injury history, high upside, willing to take a 1-year deal with incentive to prove his worth…
I was hoping Ben would do the un-Theo-like thing and sign Paps… now I’m hoping he does the un-Theo-like thing and not sign Broxton.
Francisco Rodriguez (30) – K-Rod saved 23 games with the Mets before moving to Milwaukee where he set up for John Axford. He did well, earning 17 holds and posting a 1.86 ERA and fanning 33 in 28 innings. My guess is he wants to close again and I think he could handle the pressure here in Boston… but K-Rod is a likely to ask for $12-16 million per year and for that money, the Sox could have kept Paps.
If he’s willing to accept a deal like 3-year, $30 million deal (possibly with incentives)… I might put K-Rod ahead of Bell on my list.
Frank Francisco (32) – The Blue Jays took a shot with Francisco and he spent the first half of 2011 on the DL. He finished with 17 saves, a 3.55 ERA and 60 Ks over 52 innings. Not bad, and 9 of those saves came against AL East opponents…
Franky saved 25 games as a Ranger in 2009, but the ERA is always around 3.50 and he’s probably more of a setup man. Maybe the Sox could sign him as insurance and let Bard try his luck at closing…
Joe Nathan (37) – Nathan saved 14 games in 17 tries after Matt Capps failed to get the job done in the first half of 2011. With some hard work, he could get back to elite form and help the Sox in 2012… but this smells alot like John Smoltz and all those other “reclamation projects” we’ve seen lately. I say pass.
Other options: Jon Rauch (33), Matt Capps (28), Francisco Cordero (37), Chad Qualls (33), David Aardsma (29), Fernando Rodney (35)
Bottom Line: With Papelbon gone, who do you wan the Sox to go after?
Print this poster, win a free Seguin shirt!
Attention Bruins fans! In case you missed it, Tyler Seguin is no fire! He’s leading the offense with 8 goals, 7 assists and a +11 on the young season… so we had to make a t-shirt!
Our newest t-shirt design features Seguin and a fun twist on the Back to the Future movie logo. We’re printing this t-shirt as we speak, but we thought it would be fun to run a contest for a FREE one!
The rules are simple: Just print out the poster using the PDF file below or make a poster of your own that says “Seguin: The Future Is Now!” and bring it to one of the next three Bruins home games.
If we spot you on TV, you’ll win a free Seguin shirt!
We’ll be watching the games, but if you manage to get a photo of you on TV with the poster, make sure you send it to us via e-mail… just in case.
Note: If you make your own wicked awesome poster, it must say “Seguin: The Future Is Now” AND “www.blshirts.com” on it to qualify. Otherwise, be creative and have fun with it!
Seguin The Future Is Now poster (8″ x 10″ PDF)
Here’s a look at the t-shirt. Available in mens and ladies fit in the store…
The Future Is Now Boston Bruins Tyler Seguin shirt
Check out the latest Boston Bruins shirt design from Bottom Line Apparel: “The Future Is Now” featuring Tyler Seguin!
This new Boston Bruins shirt features #19 lighting up the ice and a twist on the classic Back to the Future movie poster logo. While the rest of the Bruins have been shaking off the Stanley Cup hangover, Tyler Seguin has been leading the offense, averaging a point per game and posting a +8 on the young season. No more waiting for the kid to prove his worth… the future is now Bruins fans… and Seguin is our Marty McFly!
Available in Men’s and Women’s sizes.
Pre-order this new Tyler Seguin shirt now and save 10% with coupon code “DOY” courtesy of our buddies at Days of Y’Orr!
We’re pushing for 25 orders before we go to print, so order one (or six!) and share the link below with your friends on Facebook and Twitter…
Bottom Line: If you want this sweet new, limited edition Tyler Seguin shirt, we need your help to spread the word to as many fans as possible. Thanks!
Pick the score, win a free t-shirt: Patriots v Cowboys
Details: Every Wednesday, we post a form like the one below. Just enter your guess for the score of the upcoming Patriots game and the person with the closest guess will win a free t-shirt.
The goal is to have some fun with our fans and get excited for the game, so share this post with your friends on Facebook and Twitter – the more, the merrier!
Preview: The Patriots looked sharp in a biog game against the Jets… but the question on everyone fans mind this week is: “Did the Patriots defense improve… or are the Jets simply that bad?”
Most rational fans seem to agree that it’s probably a combination of both, but the Patriots secondary will have their hands full this Sunday with Tomy Romo, Jason Witten, Dez Bryant and Miles Austin. The Patriots managed to neutralize Jets TE Dustin Keller, who torched them in 2010, so if they use a similar plan against Witten, they could have similar success… but it was an over-commitment to the running game and a lack of trust in Sanchez that put the Jets in a whole last weekend.
Bottom Line: The Cowboys are more than willing to let Romo sling the ball around, and if they get down early, he will. The question is: Can the Patriots defense pressure him into a mistake… or four?
Rob’s Prediction: NE 34, DAL 28
Make your predictions below:
Game 6
Patriots v Jets t-shirt winner
Great game by the Patriots this Sunday. BenJarvus “The Law Firm” Green-Ellis (t-shirt coming soon!) looked great and the new balanced attack enabled the Pats to keep the Jets off the field… not that Sanchez and Co. would have done much with an extra 5 minutes of play!
2-3… ouch. Guess it could worse… they could be the Dolphins.
I predicted a 28-24 score and was damn close, but the final was 30-21 and after some careful math, the winner of a free Bottom Line Apparel t-shirt is… Beth!
Beth picked 34-21 and beat out Ryan (27-20) by predicting the Jets total exactly.
Up next: The Cowboys come to town. Romo may be Arod-esque under pressure, but he’ll sling the pigskin around if he has too and he has the weapons in Dez Bryant, Miles Austin and Felix Jones to cause trouble for the Patriots secondary.
Check back tomorrow to submit your predictions for the Cowboys v Patriots game on Wednesday.
Will Welker be stranded on “Revis Island?”
Wes Welker leads the NFL in receiving yards (616) and receptions (40). Calvin Johnson may lead the league with 8 TDs, but Welker is getting things done at every level and he’s got 5 TD catches of his own so far…
… but with the Jets coming to town this Sunday, I’m wondering if CB Darrelle Revis will take Welker out of the offensive equation?
Welker is averaging 10 catches and 157 yards per game through four games, but the Jets rank 2nd in passing defense with 180 YPG and lead the league with a 52.1 completion percentage by opposing QBs. It stands to reason that Welker will not explode for another big game, but lets take a closer look at whats really happened in those four Jets games….
27-24 W – Dallas – In Game 1, TE Jason Witten caught 6 passes for 110 yards, Miles Austin caught 5 for 90 and scored and Dez Bryant caught 3 for 71 and scored… Revis had a key interception on the Cowboys final drive, but overall, QB Tony Romo posted 342 yards and 2 TDs… and Romo ain’t Tom Brady.
32-3 W – Jacksonville – The Jags suck. With Luke McCown and Blaine Gabbard splitting time at QB in this game, the Jets focused on the only weapon the Jags have – Maurice Jones Drew. The result? Zero offense for the Jags… but how much did Revis and Co. really effect the outcome?
34-24 L – Oakland – The Raiders live and die with RB Darren McFadden, so t was no surprise to see him leading the offense in Game 3 with 19 carries, 171 yards and 2 TDs. QB Jason Campbell spread the ball around for short gains, but with Run DMC tearing through the D-Line, Revis and Co. were never really tested.
31-17 L – Baltimore – Joe Flacco was awful (10 for 31 for 163 yards) and I have to give credit to the Jets here. The erased top WR Anquan Boldin and shut down phenom Torrey Smith… forcing the Ravens to turn to RB Ray Rice. Rice got 25 carries, but only totaled 66 yards to go along with a rushing TD. He did however, lead all receivers with 64 yards on 2 catches…
…which leads us to Sunday.
Rex Ryan could decide to stick Revis on Welker on every snap, but the Patriots aren’t the Jags. They have waaaay more weapons and Tom Brady will simply find the open man if Welker is draped. And since the Jets have struggled to stop the run, I’m expecting to see more of that balanced attack we saw in Oakland.
Bottom Line: My guess is Deion Branch has a big game this Sunday. Like Welker, he and Brady have a special chemistry, and if Revis eliminates Welker, Branch and Gronk will benefit. That said, I expect Belichick to be creative with the play calling, putting Wes in different spots to get him away from Revis, including plenty of screen plays.
Wes probably won’t break 100 yards this week, but even if he finishes with 4 catches and 60 yards, he’s going to open things up for the other guys.
Bruins Quest for the Cup: Part 3
The 2011-12 Boston Bruins season starts tonight with the raising of the 2010-11 Championship Banner and Game 1 against the Philadelphia Flyers.
We made tons of new friends during the Bruins Quest for the Cup last year and I thought it would be fun to look back and remember all the fun we had making limited edition t-shirts for each round of the postseason.
The Bruins made quick work of the Flyers in Round 2 of the playoffs and B’s fans were really starting to get excited…
The Eastern Conference Championship series had us squaring off with the Tampa Bay Lightning. I have to be honest here… we struggled to come up with a clever Anti-Lightning logo, but thankfully, our buddy Joe Gill from Blaogapalooza called in on the Bat Phone with a simple, but solid design idea: a bear biting a bolt.
It just so happened that I had been working on a bear design that I hoped would become our Bruins mascot of sorts, so I just added a broken lightning bold and a snarl to our “Bruin” and we had t-shirt #3!
Bottom Line: “I love it when a plan comes together!” ~ Hannibal, A-Team
"Fast reasonable shipping, great quality and unique shirts you can't get at the big box stores." ~ Joan H.
"We loved that you were willing to work with our students directly and all of the advice you gave us to make the shirt design look perfect. And the turnaround was awesome! In the past we have had printers who just print whatever we send and take 3 weeks to do it. You made sure we had a marketable product in the time frame we needed." ~ Nicole, Brockton High School
Follow Us!