Consolation Prize Blaster

It's 2009, right? So what am I doing with another box of 2008 stuff on the blog? Well, I'm like that kid on the block that got the Nintendo like two years after everyone else. It wasn't like I didn't try, though. But I only had time to hit one Target last weekend and I've had to work all week. Maybe this weekend will be fruitful, but in the meantime, here's another blaster of the High Heritage Series of Rookies, Bench Players and Near-Stars.

Pack 1:
512 - Ryan Sweeney (Now there's a Ryan Sweeney? I couldn't even keep Mark Sweeney and Mike Sweeney straight.)
565 - Dana Eveland (No RC logo but he has the Rookie Stars design.)
543 - Greg Smith (RC)
622 - John Baker
514 - Brandon Backe (Huge Albert Pujols fan.)

689 - Eric Patterson (SP) (Part of the Rich Harden trade and brother of fantasy flub Corey.)
UH267 - Gregorio Petit (RC)
UH107 - Jason Varitek All-Stars (Can't complain much about Jeter always making the All-Star team when this guy makes it.)

Pack 2:
640 - Joe Crede

660 - Dioner Navarro (Nice shades. His head and mask take up like 60% of the photo.)
600 - Miguel Tejada
538 - Brian Buscher (Not sure who he is, still. These cards are starting to look awfully familiar.)
599 - Joe Inglett (He could be a fake player and I wouldn't know any better.)
FB9 - Carlos Delgado Flashbacks (Got it already.)
UH40 - Jon Rauch
UH69 - Chad Moeller (One of the guys the Yankees desparately turned to when Jorge Posada went down.)

Pack 3:

524 - Hiroki Kuroda (RC) (Nice touch with Kuroda's Japanese stats on the back.)
620 - Cristian Guzman
630 - Ryan Ludwick (The back references his All-Star appearance as "last year" on the back when it was actually 2008. Little things like that bug me for some reason.)
549 - Jeremy Sowers Black Back
537 - Toronto Blue Jays
TN1 - Ernie Banks / Jimmy Rollins Then & Now (Have it already.)
UH266 - Rob Mackowiak
UH68 - Jonathan Papelbon All-Stars

Pack 4:
503 - Johnny Cueto (RC) (Another Cueto.)
670 - Joakim Soria
680 - George Sherrill
501 - John Danks
655 - Angel Berroa Black Back (Still trying to live up to his 2003 Rookie of the Year award.)

700 - Eddie Kunz (RC) (SP) (I did a double take when I saw this. Why is he familiar? Eddie was on the back-to-back College World Series winning Oregon State teams. I had no idea he made it to the majors already.)
UH231 - Chris Davis (RC)
UH35 - Hanley Ramirez All-Stars

Pack 5:
554 - Vicente Padilla
652 - Glen Perkins
517 - Brian Burres
614 - Russell Branyan (Has averaged 1 HR almost every 15 ABs in his career, according to the stats on the back. He's also only averaged about 12 per season.)
665 - Texas Rangers (I have about 5 or 6 of these cards now.)
612 - Jeff Baker (Lots of him, too. I don't think he's a rookie, with 239 ABs over three seasons going into 2008, but he has the RC logo anyway.)
UH109 - Alberto Callaspo
UH279 - Alex Hinshaw (RC)

Pack 6:
502 - Jamey Wright (Wright made 4 appearances for the Cards in 2002. I wonder if he has any Cardinals cards. Maybe I have one already and I forgot about it.)

505 - Chase Headley (Somewhere on my hard drive I have pictures of Headley that I took at a AAA game in Portland last April.)
506 - Takashi Saito (Has both Japanese and Major League stats on the back.)
605 - Greg Reynolds (RC)
621 - Jeff Samardzija Black Back (RC)
712 - Jack Hannahan (SP)
UH1 - Kosuke Fukudome (RC)
UH83 - George Sherrill All-Stars (Remember "All-Stars", Seattle? You used to have some of those. Now you just have Ichiro.)

Pack 7:
674 - Paul Maholm (Was a decent late season fantasy pickup for me.)
637 - Tim Redding
634 - Manny Parra
613 - Houston Astros (Bleh.)
666 - Jason Michaels (Double bleh.)

C251 - Jonny Gomes Chrome 1581/1959 (Erin likes him because of a card in which he was flying about.)
UH32 - Cody Ross
UH197 - Michael Young All-Stars

Pack 8:
624 - Scott Olsen

593 - Nick Blackburn (RC) (Just your average sideburns-wearin' Twinkie.)
574 - Mike Pelfrey
566 - Bryan LaHair (RC)
539 - Kelly Shop Vac Black Bac
RP8 - Carlos Gonzalez Rookie Performers
UH26 - Chris Iannetta
UH153 - Armando Galarraga (RC) (Another one of my fantasy guys last year.)

Well, I should have expected this after the last blaster I got. But I still wasn't happy that all of my inserts were cards I already had before. I guess it's finally time to get that want list ready.