Hank Conger

Conger was an Angels fan favorite because he was a local guy who was always upbeat, smiling and approachable - I'm disappointed to see he was traded to Houston last week in exchange for pitcher Nick Tropeano and minor league catcher Carlos Perez.

As is, maybe Conger gets an opportunity to play more, even with Jason Castro as the starting catcher in Houston - it looks like Conger might be facing a similar 'time share' situation, but it seemed like his MLB career stagnated in Anaheim.

Even though Conger was one of the Angels' top prospects for years - Chris Iannetta was just decent enough to stick around the past three seasons and there was never a sense of urgency to give Conger 400-450 at-bats to prove himself.

32 card rookie lot purchase recap - some highlights

2011 Topps Mark Trumbo #57

2011 Topps Platinum Diamond parallel Mark Trumbo #57

2011 Topps Hank Conger #285

2011 Topps Kyle Drabek #70

2011 Topps Platinum Diamond parallel Kyle Drabek #70

I picked up a 32 card lot of 2011 Topps / 2011 Topps Heritage rookies [$4 shipped] - I didn't know what I was getting, but it wasn't a bad lot with five Angels cards and several other 'rookie stars' included.

2011 Topps Platinum Diamond parallel Brian Bogusevic #88
2011 Topps Greg Halman #83
2011 Topps Brian Bogusevic #87 x2
2011 Topps Lucas May #91
2011 Topps Ben Revere #99
2011 Topps Aroldis Chapman #110
2011 Topps Brett Sinkbeil #117
2011 Topps Lucas Duda #129
2011 Topps Jeremy Jeffress #143
2011 Topps Freddie Freeman #145
2011 Topps Jeremy Hellickson #165
2011 Topps Jose Ceda #196
2011 Topps Brandon Snyder #213
2011 Topps Lars Anderson #254
2011 Topps Jake McGee #268
2011 Topps Scott Cousins #287
2011 Topps Darren Ford #292
2011 Topps Brent Morel #322
2011 Topps Heritage Corey Luebke #69
2011 Topps Heritage Sinkbeil #131
2011 Topps Heritage Jordan Walden #194
2011 Topps Heritage Bogusevic #204
2011 Topps Heritage Ceda #266
2011 Topps Heritage Eric Sogard #348
2011 Topps Heritage Trumbo #404
2011 Topps Heritage Jarrod Dyson #414

2011 Topps Heritage blister recap - my turn at-bat

I was wondering how to deal with the new 2011 Topps Heritage coming out - I'm not going to pick up a hobby box for $75-$80, but like a lemming I wanted to see what the 2011 Topps Heritage cards looked like in-hand.

I don't think I've really loved any particular year of Topps Heritage - maybe 2009 was the last year I really liked how the Heritage cards looked.

I understand they are supposed to mimic Topps' sets from the past, but perhaps I have to be a set-builder to understand the appeal of Heritage - when at times I find the cards dull and boring.

For now, I picked up a 2011 Topps Heritage blaster box and also a three-pack blister [$8.99 each at Target] - the blisters come with '3 exclusive black parallel' cards, which maybe the ideal lure for collectors looking for a non-blaster Heritage purchase.

Black parallel pack
#C30 Clay Buchholz
#C48 Chone Figgins
#C60 Will Venable

Pack one
#208 Rickie Weeks
#68 Travis Snider

#238 Ichiro
#165 Adam Jones
#199 Aroldis Chapman
#156 Hank Conger
#159 Joba Chamberlain
#209 Andrew Romine - is it weird that I imagine being a professional baseball player for the Angels, taking a baseball card picture like Conger and Romine do on their cards?
#153 Marco Scutaro

Pack two
#280 Hiroki Kuroda
#212 Roy Oswalt
#72 Philly's Men Up the Middle - Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley
#320 Jason Heyward
#NAP-14 Felix Hernandez - New Age Performers insert
#167 Wilson Ramos
#414 Jarrod Dyson
#266 Jose Ceda
#155 Brian Wilson - I love this card but everyone has seen it, haven't they? The card is awesome but perhaps Topps should have gone with an image featuring Wilson's trademark beard.

Pack three
#150 Miguel Cabrera
#38 Coco Crisp
#276 Darwin Barney
#65 Robinson Cano
#458 Ian Kennedy - SP
#137 Babe and Mgr. Huggins
#383 Daniel Hudson
#219 Jeremy Hellickson
#191 Ryan Dempster