A & G Blaster No. 4

To be perfectly honest, I didn't set out to buy another blaster of Allen & Ginter on Sunday. I knew I would buy some kind of blaster. I was thinking Updates & Highlights would be out, which obviously is an even bigger waste of money, but I don't want to get into that. I also really want to collect Topps Heritage, but something... I don't know... otherworldly... made me put that box down and pick up another one of these. Maybe it's the cloudy white backgrounds that make me think that these cards are set in an arty afterlife of sorts.

Pack 1:
35 - Eric Byrnes (Unspeakable evil!)
186 - Jarrod Saltymacadamia
179 - Hideki Matsui Mini
273 - Jay Bruce (RC)

217 - Friedrich Nietzsche (It's true! Topps hates Jesus!)
286 - Pat Burrell (Pat the World Series Bat)

Pack 2:
75 - Travis Hafner

138 - Andy Pettitte (Okay, I know, it's Andy Pettitte. I don't know how I feel about him anymore. I like the Yankees... still. I didn't like to hear about how buddy-buddy he and Clemens were, long before all the "unpleasantness". I don't know... he's just Andy Pettitte right now.)
306 - Carlos Gomez (SP)
320 - Dmitri Young Mini (SP)
US17 - Brandon Webb US Flag
- Crack the Code ad
252 - Callix Crabbe (RC) (This is going to be a pretty awesome card a few years down the road, when no one will have any idea who Crabbe is. What a name!)
233 - Pluto ("Dwarf Planet" under the banner "The World's Champions" just doesn't make sense no matter how you look at it.)

Pack 3:
193 - Edwin Encarnacion
62 - Dustin Pedroia
79 - Jose Guillen

131 - Todd Helton Mini
234 - Jered Weaver Mini
120 - Derek Jeter Mini (Ahh! Witchery! 3 minis?)
22 - Chin-Lung Hu (RC) (An elusive card according to Night Owl Cards.)
128 - Golden Gate Bridge

Pack 4:
66 - Joe Mauer (As my girlfriend has noted, the T in Mauer's retro helmet is nearly invisible against the background, making it look like Mauer plays for the Bizarro Reds.)

140 - Jimmy Rollins (This is the obligatory Phillies card image. The Phillies are in the World Series. Good for them. I really dislike Jimmy's nickname, by the way.)
342 - Aubrey Huff (SP)
46 - Chris Young Mini
US26 - Taylor Tankersley US Flag (Montana. See, they do have to reach a bit for the less popular states. Tim Stauffer is even in this set.)
- Checklist 2 of 4
147 - James Fenimore Cooper
224 - Johnny Cueto (RC)

Pack 5:
190 - Grady Sizemore (This is good... a card I don't recognize.)
153 - Clay Buchholz (RC)

97 - Jeff Francis Mini A&G Back (This is what an Allen & Ginter back looks like, by the way. I still haven't seen what the serial-numbered Bazooka backs look like, not that I've tried all that much.)
157 - Ross Ohlendorf (RC)
291 - Rich Thompson (RC)
290 - Ken Griffey Jr. (I could see Griffey ending up on the Yankees next year for some reason.)

Pack 6:
277 - Dontrelle Willis (Oh, man. Get better, Dontrelle. Whatever is wrong with you, you need to get it fixed.)
80 - Hanley Ramirez
310 - Michael Bourn (SP)
54 - Takashi Saito Mini

US1 - Alex Rios US Flag (Alabama's flag looks like a broken image tag icon... or just a symbol of rejection. Er, don't hate me, Alabama!)
98 - Kazuo Fukumori (RC) (Are we totally sure that this is an actual player and not one of Topps's fake gimmick players?)
300 - Ryan Howard and his big stupid bat

Pack 7:
9 - Ian Kinsler
115 - Alex Rios (Alex Rios is from Alabama. See, baseball cards are educational!)

170 - Jake Peavy (I have a Peavy post in me, but it's going to have to wait for another time.)
236 - Alex Gordon Mini A&G Back
114 - Trevor Hoffman
92 - Dan Jansen

Pack 8:
229 - Joe Blanton (Too many current Phillies in this box for my liking. Go Bay Rays!)
23 - A.J. Burnett
311 - B.J. Ryan (SP) (I have 3(!) of him now.)

177 - Evan Longoria Mini (RC)
US12 - Jason Schmidt US Flag

2 - Mark Spitz World's Greatest Victories
- Checklist 1 of 4
82 - Jayson Nix (RC)
296 - Hideki Okajima

Well, the final pack somewhat made up for an otherwise lousy box. Would I be incredibly lame for admitting that, as I opened this box during Game 7 of the ALCS, I kept looking back at the Longoria mini for "good luck"? Well, at least I didn't have to set any Red Sox cards on fire... this time.