Sunday's Afternoon Blaster - 2010 Bowman Chrome

Welcome to this week's Sunday Afternoon Blaster.  Since the Rapture did not happen or maybe it did and I was left behind.  Either way, I decided to celebrate by doing the same thing I did last Sunday...buy a blaster of cards.  This set was about one person and one person only...Stephen Strasburg (aka Mark Prior 2.0, aka David Clyde Part 30).  Don't get me wrong I hope Strasburg has a nice comeback and a great career, but it probably won't happen and it is also why I am not a prospector.  I will also avoid Harper-mania this summer because he will probably become the next Travis Lee.  Most prospects fail kids, sure you might miss out on one big one, but you also didn't pay for 150 busts.  Enough of my rant, let's take a look at last summer's hot set.  Goal for this box is one Rockie I do not own, which should be easy enough since I only have one base card and 2 refractors.

Card coloration is it's availability

white = I'm keeping it

green = available for trade

red = already claimed/traded

Today's blaster is 2010 Bowman Chrome...8 3 card packs, nothing guaranteed.

On with the show.

pack one

122 Hanley Ramirez - Marlins

15 Chris Carpenter - Cardinals

BCP167 Rawley Bishop - Tigers

pack two

78 Kevin Slowey - Twins

195 Jason Donald - Indians

BCP159 Anderson Hidalgo - Twins

pack three

5 Jair Jurrgens - Braves

132 Tim Lincecum Refractor - Giants

BCP156 Kevin Mahoney - Yankees

pack four

38 Troy Tulowitzki - Rockies

USA-18 Blake Swihart - USA Baseball

BCP219 Robbie Erlin - Rangers

pack five

106 Francisco Liriano - Twins

151 Shin-Soo Choo - Indians

BCP147 Brayan Villarreal - Tigers

pack six

77 Nelson Cruz - Rangers

115 Lance Berkman - Yankees

BCP210 Matt Davidson - Diamondbacks

pack seven

130 Aaron Hill - Blue Jays

152 Raul Ibanez - Phillies

BCP196 Jason Kipnis - Indians

pack eight

79 Paul Maholm - Pirates

USA-9 Dillon Maples - USA Baseball

BCP133 Rafael Dolis - Cubs

IMPRESSIONS
Design: D+
Bowman is known as the home of the rookie card, not as the home of great design.  Bowman looks way too similar every year with the black border and different shaped photo.  I understand that there are only so many ways to make a card design, but they really need to change it up a bit.  This one is boring even for Bowman

Inserts / Hits: C
Not much of anything, but at least my refractor was of a star (even if it is the worst possible team for me to get).  The regular veteran refractors (1:6 packs) don't really stand out in this set, because I was ready to complain about missing out on one when I went back through and saw on the back that Lincecum was one.

Value: D
This was not a discounted blaster so I spent the full $19.99 on it.  Yeah I knew it was not worth the price, but I figured why not take a shot.  I love busting wax even though it is often overpriced and it would be easier and cheaper to buy singles.  I will still buy more as long as I am able to (but not of this product).  Check back in 3-5 years, because the grade may go up as the prospects become rookies.

Rox in the Box: 1
I did accomplish my goal of getting a needed Rockie. The only base card I had for this set was Brad Hawpe, so getting Tulo was nice.  Not $20 nice, but still not horrible.  Since there are only 24 cards per blaster and 8 of them were Indians, Twins, and Tigers and 2 others were USA high school players; I consider myself lucky to have gotten one Rockie, let alone Tulo.

Will I Collect This Set: F
Nope.  One word: curlitis.  Well one made up word.  You all know about and are probably sick of hearing about the curling issue for 2010 chromes.  Plus I have no interest whatsoever in the USA baseball guys.  I think Topps is just trying to get another Mark McGwire instance where this set sells like mad 15 years later (like the 1985 Topps in 1998-2000).

Overall: C-
Over-hyped prospects, generic design, awful quality control, and only 3 cards per pack means this was not my best purchase ever.  But it was still (barely) better than getting a 1990 Upper Deck Gem Mint Fred Lynn, so it could have been worse.  Well, the world could have ended, so it REALLY could have been worse.  Claim away for any you might want.

Sunday's Afternoon Blaster - 2008 Upper Deck Timeline

I am back with the Sunday Afternoon Blaster following last week's group break.  I have previously opened one blaster of this set and it got a few trades going.  So I figured why not try again especially since there is 1 guaranteed jersey card in the blaster.  My goals are to get a Rockie jersey of course or at least a team that is tradable and to get 1 or 2 of the 5 Rox I need for the team set. 

Card coloration is it's availability

white = I'm keeping it

green = available for trade

red = already claimed/traded

Today's blaster is 2008 Upper Deck Timeline.  10 6 card packs, one guaranteed jersey.

On with the show.

pack one

9 Mark Teixeira - Angels

27 Alex Rodriguez - Yankees

18 Ryan Braun - Brewers

SPs

319 Max Scherzer - Diamondbacks - Night Owl

105 Clay Timpner - Giants

251 J.R. Towles - Astros

pack two

45 Vladimir Guerrero - Angels

50 Erik Bedard - Mariners

23 Matt Kemp - Dodgers

SPs

51 Daric Barton - Athletics

170 Ryan Howard - Phillies

207 Ryan Garko - Indians

pack three

5 Johan Santana - Mets

41 Justin Verlander - Tigers - Potch Wheeler

14 Derrek Lee - Cubs

SPs

83 Eugenio Velez - Giants

173 Chin-Lung Hu - Dodgers

199 Kosuke Fukudome - Cubs - Night Owl

pack four

32 Daisuke Matsuzaka - Red Sox

15 Jason Bay - Red Sox

33 B.J. Upton - Rays

6 Hanley Ramirez - Marlins

SPs

114 Fred Lewis - Giants

223 David Ortiz - Red Sox - Night Owl

pack five

42 Joe Mauer - Twins

24 Matt Holliday - Rockies

43 Alex Gordon - Royals

16 Lance Berkman - Astros

SPs

56 Blake DeWitt - Dodgers

155 Carlos Zambrano - Cubs

pack six

34 Nick Markakis - Orioles

7 John Smoltz - Braves

25 Brandon Webb - Diamondbacks

SPs

122 Matt Joyce - Tigers

181 Brandon Boggs - Rangers - Night Owl

305 Carl Crawford - Rays - Night Owl

pack seven

22 Jake Peavy - Padres

40 Miguel Cabrera - Tigers - Potch Wheeler

13 Alfonso Soriano - Cubs

too large set of the year

YSL 4494 Reggie Jackson - Yankees

SPs

74 Justin Ruggiano - Rays

137 Jake Peavy - Padres - Night Owl

pack eight

49 Felix Hernandez - Mariners

4 Pedro Martinez - Red Sox

31 Manny Ramirez - Dodgers

12 Jimmy Rollins - Phillies

SPs

119 Joey Votto - Reds - Potch Wheeler

227 Jed Lowrie - Red Sox - AdamE

pack nine

48 Ichiro - Mariners

21 Tim Lincecum - Giants

39 C.C. Sabathia - Brewers

SPs

92 Robinzon Diaz - Blue Jays

146 Felix Hernandez - Mariners - Night Owl

208 Seth Smith - Rockies

pack ten

29 Chien-Ming Wang - Yankees

SPs

130 Tyler Clippard - Nationals - Night Owl

263 Justin Morneau - Twins - Night Owl

Memorabilia

TM-AJ Andruw Jones - Dodgers (Braves uniform)

IMPRESSIONS
Design: B+
I like the design of this set.  The base veterans and rookies are nice looking with the team color as the secondary color.  The subsets from 101-385 are mostly well selected, especially the die cut SP Top Prospects design. 

Inserts / Hits: B-
Woohoo it wasn't Jermaine Dye this time.  Although getting a Dodger isn't great for me personally, it is great for one of you many Dodger guys that read along with my bull.  Having him in a Braves uniform is vintage Upper Deck.  That is one of the reasons I honestly do not miss them from the baseball card world.

Value: B
This is yet another $11.99 blaster removed from my local Wal Mart's inventory and added to mine.  A good checklist and the guaranteed jersey in the box made it a must buy for me.  If there were more there I would probably pick up another.  Not a bad product overall.

Rox in the Box: 2
Alright!  I got one of the short prints I needed in Seth Smith.  The Holliday I have probably 5 of, but the Smith is great.

Will I Collect This Set: D
I am not collecting this set for one reason and one reason only...short prints.  The veterans (cards 1-50) are the only regular prints in this 385 card set.  The rookies (51-100) fall around 1:2 packs.  I also noticed that several of the SPs I got in this blaster I also got in the previous blaster.  I am completely convinced not to attempt this set now.

Overall: B-
I liked everything about this set overall except the insanity of the printing.  If cards 1-310 were regular and the last 75 short prints, I probably would've started (and hopefully finished) this set 3 years ago.  This was a fun blaster overall.  Everything is for trade, let the claiming begin.

Sunday's Afternoon Blaster - 2009 Upper Deck O Pee Chee

Welcome to this week's Sunday Afternoon Blaster.  It's been a rough week with very little sleep due to late night storms/tornadoes.  My town was a lot luckier than some, but we didn't know that beforehand.  So this week I am thankful that my town escaped damage and I hope all those negatively affected by these storms can get back to normal as quickly as possible.  Needless to say, I need the distraction of opening some cards today.  So that gets us to this week's set.  This is the first "rerun" that I have had in my Sunday Afternoon Blaster and from the looks of my Wally World it's not going to be the last.  I know of one blogger collecting this set and patiently waiting for me to post a 2nd blaster for a pending trade, so for him and anyone else needing cards from this set here we go.

Card coloration is it's availability

white = I'm keeping it

green = available for trade

red = already claimed/traded

And the best thing about these blasters, the back panel cards

Today's blaster is 2009 Upper Deck O Pee Chee.  15 6 card packs (1 black border per), nothing guaranteed.

On with the show.

pack one

377 Jesse Carlson - Blue Jays - Ryan H

477 Lastings Milledge black border - Nationals

1480 20th UD Retro Pedro Martinez - Red Sox

554 Joe Mauer Moments - Twins - Ryan H

417 Jered Weaver - Angels

176 Jarrod Saltalamacchia - Rangers - Ryan H

pack two

420 John Lackey - Angels - Ryan H

103 Joel Hanrahan - Nationals - Ryan H

202 Brett Gardner black border - Yankees - BABenny

572 Bobby Parnell - Mets - Ryan H

357 Russ Springer - Athletics

238 Mike Hampton - Astros - Ryan H

pack three

129 Carlos Gomez - Twins - Ryan H

459 Jeff Niemann - Rays - Ryan H

364 Troy Tulowitzki black border - Rockies

512 Dodgers team checklist - Dodgers - Ryan H

299 Nelson Cruz - Rangers - Ryan H

298 Gabe Kapler - Rays - Ryan H

pack four

53 B.J. Upton - Rays - Night Owl

361 Ted Lilly - Cubs - Ryan H

209 Hank Blalock - Rangers - Ryan H

FF14 Hanley Ramirez Face of the Franchise - Marlins

20 Brian Roberts black border - Orioles - Ryan H

597 Jordan Schafer - Braves - Ryan H

pack five (nice star pack)

185 Edinson Volquez - Reds - Night Owl

55 Jay Bruce - Reds - Ryan H

80 Lance Berkman - Astros - Ryan H

549 Carlos Zambrano Moments black border - Cubs

513 Giants team checklist - Giants - Ryan H

105 Francisco Liriano - Twins

pack six

328 Brian Buscher - Twins - Ryan H

291 Gary Sheffield - Mets

147 Derrek Lee black border - Cubs

548 Adrian Gonzalez Moments - Padres - Ryan H

475 Hanley Ramirez - Marlins

14 Jason Giambi - Athletics - Ryan H

pack seven

382 Blake DeWitt - Dodgers - Ryan H

474 Mark Buehrle - White Sox

267 Brandon Moss black border - Pirates

580 Matt Tuiasosopo - Mariners - Ryan H

71 Braden Looper - Brewers

60 Adam Dunn - Nationals

pack eight

89 Chris Snyder - Diamondbacks

196 Jeremy Hermida - Marlins - Ryan H

AW9 Tim Lincecum The Award Show insert - Giants

333 Joe Saunders black border - Angels

527 Yankees team checklist - Yankees - BABenny

56 Huston Street - Rockies

pack nine

269 Jose Arredondo - Angels

131 Adam Wainwright - Cardinals - Ryan H

337 Kevin Slowey - Twins

403 Yovani Gallardo black border - Brewers

534 NL HR Leaders (Howard, Dunn, Delgado) - Phillies, Diamondbacks, Mets - BABenny

438 Eddie Guardado - Rangers - Ryan H

pack ten

57 Bobby Crosby - Athletics

198 David Weathers - Reds - Ryan H

142 Edwin Encarnacion - Reds

329 Randy Wolf black border - Dodgers - Spiegel

565 Josh Geer - Padres - Ryan H

454 Jon Lester - Red Sox

pack eleven

393 Mike Cameron - Brewers - Ryan H

400 Evan Longoria - Rays

521 Rays team checklist black border - Rays

520 Pirates team checklist - Pirates - Ryan H

138 J.P. Howell - Rays

206 Ryan Freel - Orioles - Ryan H

pack twelve

324 Chris Coste - Phillies

WK4 J.D. Drew Walk Off Winners insert - Red Sox

405 Chris Dickerson black border - Reds

578 Trevor Crowe - Indians

335 Conor Jackson - Diamondbacks

402 Sean Gallagher - Athletics - Ryan H

pack thirteen

450 Cliff Lee - Indians

257 Pedro Feliz - Phillies - Ryan H

70 Ryan Braun black border - Brewers - Spiegel

1475 20th UD Retro Michael Young - Rangers

555 Fukudome/Theriot Moments - Cubs

79 Raul Ibanez - Phillies - Ryan H

pack fourteen

58 Jose Valverde - Astros - Ryan H

30 Kevin Youkilis - Red Sox

92 Brandon Inge black border - Tigers

NY21 Carlos Delgado New York New York insert - Mets - BABenny

585 Mike Hinckley - Nationals

pack fifteen

252 Aaron Cook - Rockies

308 Jo-Jo Reyes - Braves - Ryan H

MM7 Jimmy Rollins Midsummer Memories insert - Phillies

344 Mike Napoli black border - Angels

533 AL HR Leaders (Cabrera, Quentin, ARod) - Tigers, White Sox, Yankees - BABenny

227 Jason Bay - Red Sox

IMPRESSIONS (caution only about 50% new material, think of it as a self homage)
Design: C+
The design of the set is very simple and yet it somehow works a bit.  It is very reminiscent to me of 1961 Topps (which I don't like) and 1976 Topps (which I do like).  This set fall somewhere in between those two, right about the middle of like and don't like.  I do like the fact that the cards are on cardboard stock, but not the thicker Heritage type cardboard.  More like a slightly thicker overproduction era Topps card.

Inserts / Hits: C+
Once again, I love the Face of the Franchise insert set.  It is just everything a great insert set should be.  The Midsummer Memories and The Award Show are nice ideas, but they don't do anything for me as far as design.  The New York New York is everything wrong with an insert set, because you eliminate 28 teams worth of collectors before you even start with a design.  The "new" insert in this blaster was Walk Off Winners which would be good except the one I got celebrates a walk off single, which is kind of lame honestly.

Value: B+
How can you complain about 15 packs of cards from 2009 for $12?  Well I mean, I have complained a bit, but none of it has to do with the price.  This would get an A+ with a guaranteed hit, but still pretty good anyway.

Rox in the Box: 3
Great for me.  All 3 of the Rox in this box were needed by me, which was difficult because I nearly had the whole base team set (well not nearly but I had over half).  Anytime I get a Tulo, let alone a parallel Tulo, it's a good day.  I am very happy with this selection.

Will I Collect This Set: D
Well, after seeing it in person and with all the C+'s, I have decided to not pursue collecting this set.  I like it, but I don't like it enough and you can't collect everything (at least not on my budget).  I will be pursuing the Face of the Franchise insert set though.

Overall: C+
A nice "throwback" set, but overall kind of average.  The best thing about this blaster is the cards on the back of the box.  They really bring back memories of my ten year old self asking the local store clerks if they had any empty card boxes that I could have.  Claim away.

Sunday's Afternoon Blaster - 2011 Topps Value Pack

Welcome to this week's Sunday Afternoon Blaster.  This is one of those purchases that I just had to make.  The Topps set I haven't bought this year (other than one blaster), the Heritage is my favorite set in a long time.  The two Diamond Giveaway cards inserted in every box will put me over the first gift threshhold as well.  I think for the money this is one of the better values for cards.  I say this before opening it, I may complain at the end though.  I do have a few specific goals for each set.  With the Topps I need 2 specific non-parallel cards #141 Ubaldo Jimenez base and KC-1 Ubaldo Kimball Champions.  I would also be happy with a parallel Rockie as well. The Heritage, since I have completed the base set, I simply want a SP or insert I need.  I would also be happy with one of the 2 non-SP Rox I need for the team set. 

Card coloration is it's availability

white = I'm keeping it

green = available for trade

red = already claimed/traded



Today's "blaster" is a 2011 Topps Baseball Value Box.  5 Series 1 packs, 2 Heritage hobby packs, 1 bonus pack.

On with the show.

Topps

pack one

307 Alex Rios - White Sox

46 Hong-Chih Kuo - Dodgers

184 Brandon Morrow - Blue Jays

29 Josh Hamilton MVP - Rangers

314 Ryan Kalish - Red Sox

134 League Leaders Carlos Gonzalez - Rockies (and others)

217 Yunel Escobar - Blue Jays

154 Marlon Byrd - Cubs

267 Jose Contreras - Phillies

inserts

DD-PG Price/Garza Diamond Duos - Rays

60YOT-32 1983 #540 Ozzie Smith - Cardinals

TT-13 Chase Utley Toppstown - Phillies

pack two

188 Pablo Sandoval - Giants

33 Max Scherzer - Tigers

221 Scott Hairston - Padres

49 Angels team card - Angels

198 Buster Posey - Giants

53 Dbacks team card - Diamondbacks

283 Rockies team card - Rockies

113 Arthur Rhodes - Reds

191 Jay Bruce - Reds

inserts

T60-3 Babe Ruth Topps 60 - Yankees

HOT-10 2009 Topps receives MLB Exclusive - History of Topps

TT-32 Mike Stanton Toppstown - Marlins

pack three

121 Brandon Inge - Tigers

35 Shin-Soo Choo - Indians

317 Yonder Alonso - Reds

70 Kyle Drabek - Blue Jays

15 David Wright - Mets

234 Miguel Montero - Diamondbacks

273 Derrek Lee - Braves

90 Yadier Molina - Cardinals

171 Garrett Jones - Pirates

inserts

143 Jeremy Jeffress diamond parallel - Brewers

60YOT-39 1990 #701 Bernie Williams - Yankees

TT-33 Victor Martinez Toppstown - Red Sox

pack four

284 Reid Brignac - Rays

67 Vladimir Guerrero - Rangers

218 Victor Martinez - Red Sox

117 Brett Sinkbeil - Marlins

196 Jose Ceda - Marlins

7 Mickey Mantle - LET HIM REST IN PEACE

230 Aaron Cook - Rockies

325 Jayson Werth - Phillies

313 Chris Coghlan - Marlins

inserts

TDG-4 Albert Pujols Diamond Giveaway - Cardinals (see below for results)

KC-1 Ubaldo Jimenez Kimball Champions - Rockies WOOHOO!

TT-50 Albert Pujols Toppstown - Cardinals

pack five

311 James Shields - Rays

224 Milton Bradley - Mariners

69 Brett Gardner - Yankees

52 Rays team card - Rays

83 Greg Halman - Mariners

236 Nelson Cruz - Rangers

86 Carlos Silva - Cubs

229 Jonathan Sanchez - Giants

10 Stephen Strasburg - Nationals

inserts

T60-16 Carl Crawford Topps 60 - Rays

60YOT-05 1956 #113 Phil Rizzuto - Yankees

TT-47 Dustin Pedroia Toppstown - Red Sox

Heritage

pack one

255 Edwin Jackson - White Sox

47 Kosuke Fukudome - Cubs - Spiegel

296 Ian Desmond - Nationals

86 Alex Presley - Pirates

C56 Edwin Jackson chrome - White Sox 1831/1962

321 Matt Mangini - Mariners

415 Dexter Fowler - Rockies

398 Joey Votto All Star - Reds

55 AL ERA Leaders Felix Hernandez - Mariners (and others)

pack two

240 Xavier Nady - Diamondbacks

287 Neftali Feliz - Rangers

83 Chris Carpenter - Cardinals

345 Dustin Pedroia - Red Sox

350 Joey Votto - Reds

44 Justin Upton - Diamondbacks

121 Buck Showalter - Orioles

413 Chris Young - Diamondbacks

97 Grady Sizemore - Indians

Bonus

TDG-6 Roy Halladay Diamond Giveaway - Phillies

TDG-4 Albert Pujols Diamond Giveaway - Cardinals

MBC2 Jackie Robinson refractor - Dodgers - Spiegel

Code Redemptions

Pujols from pack = 1991 #174 Ken Caminiti and Colorado Rockies ring

Halladay = 1987 #200 Pete Rose and New York Mets ring

Pujols bonus = 2005 #327 Orioles Future Stars and St. Louis Cardinals ring

BONUS PRIZE for 5 Rings

2005 #194 Bobby Abreu and Oakland Athletics ring

IMPRESSIONS
Design: A
The Topps design is great, but after 4 years it's about time for a non-white bordered set.  Hopefully 2012 will change it up a bit and be like 1971 or 2003 instead of 2002 or 1990.  I have already stated multiple time how much I love the 1962 Topps design.  This set is the one I had been looking forward to since I got back into the hobby and learned of Heritage in 2006.

Inserts / Hits: C-
I have railed on all of the Topps inserts from the flagship set this year before, but I am thrilled with getting the last Rockie I need in Ubaldo's Kimball mini.  With the Heritage I got about as blah as a could get for the 2 hobby packs, especially since the Chrome card I got was a dupe and I only have 12 of them.  The less said about the Diamond Giveaway codes the better.

Value: A
It is called a "value" box.  For the price, this is one of the best retail values there are.  A Heritage hobby insert or Jackie Robinson SP would have made this a slam dunk A+.  But still not bad at all, I just wish they had these before I had virtually the whole Heritage set put together.

Rox in the Box: 5...6 (counting virtual junk)
Great box for a Rockies fan.  Getting one of the two cards I need for my flagship team set is fantastic.  The Fowler was not one of the 2 (Wigginton, Gonzalez AS) I need for the team set, but I am never going to complain about this year's Heritage.  The ring is what it is, eh I guess it's better than a Giants or Dodgers ring.

Will I Collect This Set: B/A+
The flagship set I will eventually get around to building, but it's not anything I am in a big hurry to do.  Heritage I hope to have fully complete (including the High Numbers) by the end of 2011.  I am pretty close already and only need 24 more short prints and 6 inserts. 

Overall: A
For the price this value box can't be beat for the average collector.  It was only $3 more than my usual discount blaster and a bunch of people are actually still collecting these sets.  So maybe I can work out a few trades and get what I need with this box.

Sunday's Afternoon Blaster - 2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces

Welcome to this week's Sunday Afternoon Blaster.  This is a purchase from my local Wal Mart which I hadn't noticed prior to this week.  Either I missed it or Wally World has a stash of old blasters in the back.  We shall see in the upcoming weeks.  Last week's monstrosity of a repack blaster, well monstrosity is overstating it a bit but it wasn't good, inspired this purchase.  I got one pack of the 2007 version of this set in that box and I figured 2008 would be just as good, we shall see.  There are 3 Rockies in this set, of which I own 2.  The goals for this blaster are card #30 Matt Holliday and a cool short print or parallel that is very tradable.

Card coloration is it's availability

white = I'm keeping it

green = available for trade

red = already claimed/traded

Man, Dice-K was everywhere in 2008, wasn't he?

Today's blaster is 2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces.  8 four card packs, nothing guaranteed.

On with the show.

pack one

43 Chin-Lung Hu - Dodgers

85 Chris Carpenter - Cardinals

4 Chipper Jones - Braves

46 Robin Yount - Brewers

pack two

8 Jim Palmer - Orioles

23 Jim Thome - White Sox

32 Justin Verlander - Tigers

18 Alfonso Soriano - Cubs

pack three

86 Carl Crawford - Rays

65 Jorge Posada - Yankees

YSL 782 Babe Ruth - Yankees

81 Ichiro - Mariners

67 Eric Chavez - Athletics

pack four

57 Pedro Martinez - Mets

29 Troy Tulowitzki - Rockies

39 Roy Oswalt - Astros

90 Ryan Zimmerman - Nationals

pack five

15 David Ortiz - Red Sox

1 Brandon Webb - Diamondbacks

76 Greg Maddux - Padres

48 Ryan Braun - Brewers

pack six

2 Justin Upton - Diamondbacks

102 Nolan Ryan - Astros (short print)

53 Carlos Beltran - Mets

88 Frank Thomas - Blue Jays

pack seven

79 Russell Martin - Dodgers

64 Joba Chamberlain - Yankees

YSL 1336 Joe Gordon - Yankees
25 Joe Morgan - Reds

11 Carl Yastrzemski - Red Sox

pack eight

50 Joe Mauer - Twins

22 Kosuke Fukudome - Cubs

74 Luke Hochevar - Royals

60 Whitey Ford - Yankees

IMPRESSIONS
Design: A-
They named this set well, because these are Masterpieces.  Most of the paintings aren't as good as the 2007 set, but there are only a couple that I didn't think looked that good.  The Verlander card is my favorite due to the detail of the scoreboard during his no hitter.  Fantastic.  I am on the fence on the textured front. It just doesn't feel like a card, but I can overlook it because at least it's different.

Inserts / Hits: D-
This is not the product for hit seekers, at least not the blasters.  I am not aware of any insert sets other than parallels in this set, but I don't think there are any.  I will say one thing about the (usually ignored on this site) Yankee Stadium Legacy cards in this blaster.  I was not bothered by them one bit because they did not replace a regular card.  These types of basically uncompletable sets only bother me if they impede my attempt to collect something else.

Value: B

Not bad, nothing great popped out other than the Ryan short print (which looks great in its rainbow goodness).  But there were some good cards and I feel like I go my money's worth out of this.  And when all is said and done, that's all I am looking for.

Rox in the Box: 1
Well I missed out on the Holliday to finish this set, but it's not horrible or anything.  I got 1 Rockie out of 32 cards, that's right where it should be considering there are 30 teams.  I was hoping for the Holliday, but I did not expect it.

Will I Collect This Set: F
As good as this set is, it really just isn't my style.  I have always thought card collectors fell into one of two main categories, photography lovers and stats lovers.  I am more the latter, but I am not a crazy new school sabermetrics fanatic.  But when I started collecting the numbers fascinated me more than the pictures.  This is a set ideal for the photography/art lovers though.

Overall: B
This is great set for what it is.  I would never want a flagship set to be like this with all the retired players and funky design, but for a side set this isn't bad at all.  Just like with 2008 UD Timeline, I was right on the fence for collecting this set, but the short prints decided it for me again.  Even though I am not going to pursue this set, I would buy a (discounted) blaster again just for the fun of seeing these cards in person.

Sunday's Afternoon Blaster - 2011 Gems of the Game

Welcome to this week's Sunday Afternoon Blaster.  Today's edition is a bit different than all the others.  I have nearly picked my local Wal Mart clean on discount blasters, so when I was shopping at Meijer this week and spotted a blaster I had never seen before in their card aisle, I popped at 19.99.  In this blaster you get 10 baseball packs and 1 graded card.  I am not a huge fan of graded cards, but I am not as against them as most of my fellow bloggers.  They have their place in the hobby, but should not (and hopefully never will) be a primary category of cards.  Some of you are probably rolling your eyes saying...whoopdedoo a repack, but I have never purchased any type of repack before.  Why not take a shot.  No specific goals here, but a decent Gem 10 card might pay for the blaster.

Card coloration is it's availability

white = I'm keeping it

green = available for trade

red = already claimed/traded

pack one

2009 Upper Deck Series 1 (18 cards)

69 Carlos Zambrano - Cubs

13 Chad Tracy - Diamondbacks

45 Daisuke Matsuzaka - Red Sox

17 Jair Jurrgens - Braves

124 Ryan Spilborghs - Rockies

187 Joe Saunders - Angels

112 Fausto Carmona - Indians

472 Chase Utley checklist - Phillies

408 Travis Snider - Blue Jays

6728 YSL Hideki Matsui - Yankees

430 Josh Whitesell - Diamondbacks

443 Pena/Iwamura/Upton Team Leaders - Rays

263 Jason Giambi - Yankees

280 Eric Chavez - Athletics

246 Ryan Church - Mets

342 Kyle Lohse - Cardinals

308 Adam LaRoche - Pirates

315 Adrian Gonzalez - Padres

pack two

2007 Upper Deck Masterpieces (4 cards)

6 Kirk Gibson - Dodgers

45 Ken Griffey Jr. - Mariners

51 Delmon Young - Rays

38 Albert Pujols - Cardinals

pack three

2009 Upper Deck Goudey (5 cards)

70 Carlos Guillen - Tigers

60 Fausto Carmona - Indians

111 Ben Sheets - Brewers

195 Vernon Wells - Blue Jays

179 Rick Ankiel - Cardinals

pack four

2009 Upper Deck Goudey (5 cards)

98 Scott Elbert - Dodgers

64 Cliff Lee - Indians

227 Carl Yastrzemski SP - Red Sox

35-23 Yount/Braun/Gallardo/Fielder red border - Brewers - Spiegel

162 Ryan Doumit - Pirates

pack five

2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes (5 cards)

12 Josh Hamilton - Rangers

64 Miguel Cabrera - Tigers

185 Johnny Bench/Ivan Rodriguez - Reds/Tigers

94 Chad Billingsley - Dodgers

53 C.C. Sabathia charcoal parallel - Indians

pack six

2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions (4 cards)

32 Josh Hamilton - Rangers

60 Matt Garza - Rays

75 Carlton Fisk mini - Red Sox - AdamE

83 Akinori Iwamura - Rays - Spiegel

pack seven

2008 Upper Deck X (6 cards)

30 Brandon Phillips - Reds

100 Lastings Milledge - Nationals

72 Eric Chavez die cut parallel - Athletics

X-BU - B.J. Upton XPonential insert - Rays

4099 YSL Chris Chambliss - Yankees

41 Gary Sheffield - Tigers

pack eight

2009 Upper Deck Icons (5 cards)

71 Kosuke Fukudome - Cubs

59 Johan Santana - Mets

42 Grady Sizemore - Indians

22 Chipper Jones - Braves

85 Rick Ankiel - Cardinals

pack nine

2010 Upper Deck Series 1 (8 cards)

14 Esmil Rogers - Rockies

230 Humberto Quintero - Astros

282 Jeff Weaver - Dodgers

SB-112 Vladimir Guerrero Season Biography - Angels

CP11/CP12 Anna Kournikova(?)/Enrique Iglesias - Celebrity Predictors - Colbey

79 Ty Wigginton - Orioles

503 Darren O’Day - Rangers

579 Troy Tulowitzki/Todd Helton checklist - Rockies

pack ten

2008 Topps Series 1

117 Boof Bonser - Twins

45 Dontrelle Willis - Tigers

231 Casey Blake - Indians

244 Adam Wainwright - Cardinals

144 Jerry Owens - White Sox

YR58 Adrian Beltre Year in Review - Mariners

31 Ronny Paulino - Pirates

75 Felix Hernandez - Mariners

240 Jim Thome - White Sox

292 Mark Loretta - Astros

THE GRADED CARD

BCCG 10 - Mint or Better (not PSA, but maybe still big money)

1990 Upper Deck (ugh)

#771 Fred Lynn (really? someone sent this in to be graded?)

IMPRESSIONS
Design: N/A

Well, obviously I can't judge the design of a repack.  But I can say of the sets I got I like 2008 Baseball Heroes, 2007 Masterpieces, 2008 Topps, and 2009 Icons the best.  2008 Upper Deck X and both Upper Deck main sets are okay.  The less said about the other two, the better.

Inserts / Hits: D
I picked an insert in nearly every pack; some good, some not so good.  My favorite is the die cut parallel of UDX.  I think that set is starting to grow on me.  I also got another SP from 2009 Goudey which should be easy to trade which is always good.  After the first pack and getting another YSL card (and later one more) I admittedly cringed, but I did find an insert that is even worse than those.  The Celebrity Predictors are quite possibly the worst cards ever printed.  They don't even name the celebrities that they are satirizing, just a vague description.  The graded card is just a joke.  At least it is a 10 (even if it is BCCG), I might put it on eBay once or twice with a $10 price tag and see if anyone bites.  Stranger things have happened.

Value: F
Horrible, just horrible.  Actually if it was 50% off like my normal blasters it wouldn't be THAT bad, but still not great.

Rox in the Box: 3
Well I did have one thing go right.  I got 3 Rockies and needed 2 of them.  Granted they are not cards that are particularly hard to find, but that's 2 more I won't have to get later.

Will I Collect This Set: N/A
I wish this was a set just so I could skip collecting it.

Overall: D
Well my first foray into repacks did not go well.  My local Meijer was built within the last year, so there aren't any discount blasters there yet.  I will probably avoid cards from there for a while until they realize I am the only person in this town that buys cards and lower the price.  This experience has not completely soured me on repacks and I'm sure if I had picked one of the other 4 GOTGs I would've gotten at least a little better than a Fred Lynn.  I may try another one from a different store in a few weeks, but I am going to try the Wally World in the next town first.  Everything is for trade once again (excluding the 2 Rox).  Have fun claiming.

PS - Don't forget to guess right below this post.