2008 Upper Deck Stars and Stripes Series 2 Blaster

I needed a pick me up from the Bravo's recent sweep at the hands of the Philthies (again) so I splurged and went over my weekly recommended allowance of blasters. It's July Fourth, so what better than a Stars and Stripes blaster from Upper Deck Series 2? I'm not going to get too detailed into this thing, I'll let the cards do the talking. In short, Stars and Stripes boxes are different from regular blasters in that they:

1. Have no StarQuest cards
2. Have a Team USA jersey card instead of a MLB jersey card
3. Have 2 exclusive Star Attractions inserts per box

Other than that, it's the typical 1 predictor, 1 Team USA and two Yankee Stadium cards per blaster. Let's rip:

Pack 1
471 Norris Hopper
472 Josh Barfield
531 Ervin Santana
596 Bobby Crosby
680 Jason Jennings
649 Erik Bedard
737 Grady Sizemore Highlights
724 Ramon Troncoso RC

Pack 2
442 Carlos Zambrano
617 Jason Bay
676 David Murphy
642 Adrian Beltre
602 Chris Denorfia
461 Nick Swisher
781 Brandon Webb Highlights
780 Derek Jeter Checklist

Pack 3
499 Curtis Granderson
488 Ubaldo Jimenez
513 Lance Berkman
532 Francisco Rodriguez
692 Johnny Estrada
620 Jose Bautista
717 Evan Meek RC
PP-11A McCain Vs. Hillary - Taxes

Pack 4
417 Yunel Escobar
695 Odalis Perez
589 Robinson Cano
YSL6117 Paul O'Neill Yankee Stadium
633 Scott Hairson
749 Torii Hunter Highlight
766 Johan Santana Checklist
SA-6 Nick Markakis Star Attractions

Pack 5
487 Ryan Spilborghs
433 Jason Varitek
546 Hong-Chih Kuo
651 Chris Carpenter
555 Eric Gagne
462 Carlos Quentin
754 Scott Rolen Checklist
739 Ichiro Highlight

Pack 6
425 Melvin Mora
416 Tyler Yates
526 Mark Teahen
672 Jason Botts
650 Brad Wilkerson
621 Nyjer Morgan RC
705 Gregor Blanco RC
782 Brian Roberts Highlight

Pack 7
460 Brain Anderson
536 Gary Matthews
585 Kei Igawa
510 Andrew Miller
520 Michael Bourn
775 Troy Tulowitzki Highlight
716 Kyle McClellan RC
USJR-18 Tyler Hibbs

Pack 8
616 Tom Gorzellanny
479 David Dellucci
694 Ryan Zimmerman
654 Skip Schumaker
403 Chris Burke
693 Paul Lo Duca
738 Greg Maddux Highlight
SA-7 Prince Fielder Star Attraction

Pack 9
406 Eric Byrnes
450 Geovany Soto
562 Francisco Liriano
YSL6142 Paul O'Neill
569 Delmon Young
635 Noah Lowry
761 Andruw Jones Checklist
712 Eliot Johnson RC

Pack 10
497 Carlos Guillen
577 Pedro Martinez
541 Jason Schmidt
USA-JR Josh Romanski
665 Cliff Floyd
603 Emil Brown
795 Josh Beckett Highlight
757 Troy Glaus Checklist

The wrapup:

Base cards - 73/400 (18%)

Yankee Stadium Legacy - 2 (Paul O'Neill, Paul O'Neill)

Star Attractions - 2 (Nick Markakis, Prince Fielder)

Presidential Predictors - 1

Team USA - 0

Team Junior USA -1 (Tyler Hibbs)

Team USA Jersey - 1 (Josh Romanski)

Whew. I probably should have gotten one of those Tri-Star "Chase the '54 Topps" boxes instead. The USA jersey card is of a Pirates draft pick (and they don't do well with prospects) The predictor card had roller marks all over it and seriously, two Paul O'Neill cards? I suppose I got a good chunk of the set and some trade bait for the Star Attractions, but not a great box overall.