Could this be the worst blaster ever?

When you're a beggar, you cannot be a chooser. So I bid when this blaster of baseball cards was listed on e-bayUK, there was a moment of absolute clarity or was that stupidity. Either. They can be very close sometimes. The warning signs were there, a fellow collector selling an unopened box of cards, no other bids, the large advertisement for 'possible' Dice-K autographs and the 'hottest rookies' tag line.
'A Pack a Day' was about the search for the ultimate pack, this blaster would be the polar opposite of ultimate. Saying worst just doesn't feel strong enough.
Maybe I am being a little harsh.
I am a fairly positive sort of person, I'm not one of those collectors looking for the big 'HIT' from packs, or even the little ones. A Red Sox or two wouldn't go unwanted, a Jacoby Ellsbury would be the cause for some minor celebrations, even an unique insert would bring a little joy.
I will let this blaster speak for itself. I have a feeling these will be a bit like indoor fireworks, sound like an interesting idea but don't quite live up to the expectation.
Please prove me wrong, which of these is a 'future star'.

Pack 1:
#33 Magglio Ordonez Tigers
#72 Chase Utley Phillies
#73 Ryan Howard Phillies
#88 Chris Carpenter Cardinals

Pack 2:
#20 Paul Konerko White Sox
#56 Joe Mauer Twins
#85 Richie Sexson Mariners
#90 Carl Crawford Bay Rays

Pack 3:
#2 Andrew Jones Braves
#22 Ken Griffey Jr. Reds (seriously?)
#45 Vladimir Guerrero Angels
#62 Carlos Beltran Mets

Pack 4:
#7 John Smoltz Braves
#11 David Ortiz Red Sox
#92 Scott Kazmir Bay Rays
#99 Ryan Zimmerman Nationals
Pack 5:
#24 Aaron Harang Reds
#41 Carlos Lee Astros
#79 Jake Peavy Padres
#96 Troy Glaus Blue Jays

Pack 6:
#58 Johan Santana Twins
#65 Johnny Damon Yankees
#75 Freddy Sanchez Pirates
#82 Matt Cain Giants

Pack 7:
#6 Jeff Francoeur Braves
#31 Garrett Atkins Rockies
#48 Juan Pierre Dodgers
#91 Rocco Baldelli Bay Rays

Pack 8:
#14 Curt Schilling Red Sox (come on-really!)
#28 C.C.Sabathia Indians
#39 Lance Berkman Astros
#73 Jimmy Rollins Phillies
So tell me is there a hot rookie or a future star amongst this lot.
And I ask again- Is this indeed the Worst Blaster Ever?

The Joy of Completion Part 2

It is delight to see.
Full 9 pocket pages.
Here is the complete base set of 2007 UD Masterpieces. I was 15 cards shy of the 90 card complete base set. I recently discovered the set collectors dream 'Check out my Cards'. They cost a little more to send than usual but they were delivered quickly and very securely. If you haven't already tried this site, I highly recommend it. Those last 15 cards were easily checked off and I can breathe a little easier now. That is until until 2010 Allen and Ginter hit the shelves June sometime.

2007 UD Masterpieces Blaster

I bought this Masterpieces blaster from e-bayUS in the hope of finishing off , or getting very close to completing, the 2007 set. I haven't pulled any of the parallels or inserts but on looking that these cards I realised why I wanted the whole base set. The names and images in the set. Upper Deck seemed to go all out for this year with some iconic pictures.
The details of 2007 Masterpieces can be found here.

Pack 1:

#3 Bobby Thomson New York Giants

#29 Ken Griffey Junior Reds

#54 Jackie Robinson/Yogi Berra

#80 Craig Biggio Astros

Pack 2:

#17 Sandy Koufax Dodgers

#56 Hanley Ramirez Marlins

#67 Ryan Zimmerman Nationals

#90 Curt Schilling Red Sox

Pack 3:

#12 Ryan Howard Phillies

#28 Carl Yastrzemski Red Sox

#43 Ichiro Mariners

#69 Chien -Ming Wang Yankees

Pack 4:

#18 Reggie Jackson Yankees

#20 Ty Cobb Tigers

#64 Jared Weaver Angels

#77 Phil Hughes Yankees

Pack 5:

#31 David Ortiz Red Sox

#38 Albert Pujols Cardinals

#51 Delmon Young Bay Rays

#57 Victor Martinez Indians

Pack 6:

#5 Carlton Fisk Red Sox

#49 Albert Pujols Cardinals

#70 David Wright Mets

#88 Chase Utley Philles

Pack 7:

#58 Cole Hamels Phillies

#62 Luis Aparicio White Sox

#75 Richard Nixon

#83 Billy Butler Royals

Pack 8:

#7 Don Larsen Yankees

#71 Ryan Howard Phillies

#84 Andy LaRoche Dodgers

#87 Roberto Clemente Pirates

Great set and a little bit closer to a complete set. See my progress 2007 Masterpieces.

2007 Upper Deck Masterpieces

Way back in 2007 I was sent a pack of these cards and have tried earnestly to get my hands on some more without much success. Its now 2009 and I was pleasantly surprised to find a blaster cheaply on e-bayUS.
The base set consists of 90 cards.
There are inserts: Captured on Canvas, Captured on Canvas Bronze, Captured on Canvas Green, 5x7 Box Toppers and Strokes of Genius
There are parallel sets: Blue Steel, Hades, Rusted, Ironised, Bronze Ore, Black Linen, Deep Blue Linen, Green Linen, Persian Blue Linen, Red Linen, Artists Proofs, Serious Black, Pinot Red, Winsdor Green, Celestial Blue and Urban Grey.

Pack 1:

#23 Roy Campanella Dodgers

#24 Jackie Robinson Dodgers

#37 Miguel Cabrea Marlins

#49 Albert Pujols Cardinals

Pack 2:

#35 Joe Mauer Twins

#46 Michael Jordan White Sox

#55 Cal Ripkin Jnr Orioles

#81 Chris Chambliss Yankees

Pack 3:

#22 Babe Ruth Red Sox

#42 Ripken Jnr / Gwynn

#68 Akinori Iwamura Bay Rays

#85 1969 World Series Champions Mets

Pack 4:

#3 Bill Mazeroski Pirates

#33 Chase Utley Phillies

#48 Randy Johnson Mariners

#65 Alex Gordon Royals

Pack 5:

#13 Brooks Robinson Orioles

#61 Jason Bay Pirates

#72 Alex Rodriguez Yankees

#78 Tom Glavine Met

Pack 6:

#11 Bucky Dent Yankees

#26 Sandy Koufax Dodgers

#62 Luis Aparicio White Sox

#88 Chase Utley Phillies

Pack 7:

#7 Don Larsen Yankees

#39 Frank Thomas White Sox

#52 Johan Santana Twins

#75 Richard Nixon President

Pack 8:

#9 Roger Maris Yankees

#30 Derek Jeter Yankees

#82 Tim Lincecum Giants

#87 Roberto Clemente Pirates

I still really like this set even though there was only 1 Red Sox card ( and 5 Yankees!)

2007 Upper Deck World Series Champions Box Set

In my pursuit of Red Sox cards I cannot fail to get 100% from this box set sent by Eric from The Pettitte Pursuit.

The World Series Champions Red Sox Box Set contains:

25 Regular Season Players cards

15 Regular Season Highlight cards

9 Postseason Memorable Moments cards

1 World Series MVP card

1 Oversized Commemorative card

The Oversized Commemmorative card, which is 3 1/2in x 5 in. Has the Red Sox celebrating their win, but with no added photoshopping. After a 86-year gap between World Series titles ended in 2004, the Red Sox didn't need to wait nearly as long to add another ring to their collection.

Mike Lowell, the series MVP gets his own card. He was named MVP after he had a .400 batting average, six runs scored and four RBI's. He lifted the Red Sox to a title win over the Rockies.

100% success! Every card a Red S0x.

2007 Topps Turkey Red

There are 200 cards in the base set, which includes 150 subjects and 15 variations.
There are inserts: 61 Dick Perez paintings, 43 American Presidents and 25 A-Rod Road to 500
There are parallels: Chrome (#to 99), Chrome Refractors (#to 999), Black Chrome (#to 1999)
There are Cabinet cards, A-Rod signed Road to 500, relics, autographs and something called a Refractor Chromographs. Golly sounds impressive.
There are 8 cards per pack. This pack came from Rob at Texas Rangers Cards.

The pack:

#16 Stand up Double checklist

#27 Roy Halladay Blue Jays

#34 Mickey Mantle Yankees

#37 Edgar Renteria Braves

#91 Delmon Young Bay Rays

##99 Dustin Moseley Angels

#122 Roy Oswalt Astros

#159 Johan Santana Twins

No Red sox, but I still like this set of cards.

2007 Topps Series One

There are 330 cards in the base set.
There are inserts: 25 Own The Game, 20 Hobby Masters, 25 Road to 500, 110 Josh Gibson HR History, 20 Distinguished Service, Generation Now, Various Mickey Mantle inserts, the usual relics and autos
There are parallels:Platinum-1 of 1, Gold, First Edition.
Home Team Advantage Only. The home team advantage stores only came up frequently. There were Specials, Copper parallels, Exclusives and Printing Plates. One for the 'special collectors' I presume?
There are 12 cards per pack.

The pack:

#OTG12 David Ortiz Red Sox

#62 Dan Wheeler Astros

#97 Dave Bush Brewers

#120 Jason Giambi Yankees

#179 Joe Nathan Twins

#184 Gil Meche Royals

#187 Matt Cain Giants

#201 Chuck James Braves

#207 Mark Mulder Cardinals

#218 Clay Hensley Padres

#208 Curt Schilling Red Sox

#290 Matt Holliday Rockies

Checklist 1/3

Hey, not bad. Two Red Sox., one of them being a Big Papi insert !

2007 SP Legendary Cuts

The pack contains 4 cards.
There are 100 cards in the base set.
There are inserts Legendary Lineage Die cuts (numbered to 550)
There are parallels galore Legendary Material ,When It Was A Game, Masterful Material, Inside the Numbers, A Stitch in time, Material Signatures (numbered to 10), Legendary Signatures (numbered to 199), Legendary Materials (numbered to 199), Legendary Americana (numbered to 550), Material Cuts (numbered between 5 and 1),Legendary Team Cuts (1 of 1), Legendary Quad Cuts (1 of 1), Dual cuts (1 of 1), Signature Cuts (1 of 1),Quotation Cuts (numbers vary), Hall of Fame Cuts, Historical Cuts.
Cuts, cuts and more cuts.
I bought three packs, knowing full well that there would be just base cards.

Pack 1:

#1 Phil Niekro Braves

#16 Ernie Banks Cubs

#30 Lou Boudreau Reds

#85 Satchel Paige St. Louis

Pack 2:

#2 Brooks Robinson Orioles

#21 Nellie Fox White Sox

#29 Bob Lemon Indians

#86 George Sisler St. Louis

Pack 3:

#15 Rod Carew Angels

#44 Kirby Puckett Twins

#72 Steve Carlton Phillies

#99 Vern Stephens Red Sox

I like the look of these cards. The black background marble effect works for me. Photographs in black and white, the player surrounded by a red oval, sometimes breaking free of the confines and the gold lettering. It all fits very well. Only 100 base cards to collect, a box should do...how much were they again?

2007 UD Masterpieces Vacancy List

My favourite set from 2007 was,

UD Masterpieces

These are the cards that I need to complete the base set of 90 cards. 17 cards needed.

1, 6, 8, 14, 19, 21, 27, 28, 32, 34, 45, 47, 60, 66, 73, 79, 86.