Better late than never: a trade post featuring PTSIA

It looks like Greg beat me to the punch, but I'm happy to say that our trade packages arrived to each other on the same day, and hence, you get to see both ends of my second trade (here's the first) with Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle.

To be clear, the title refers to my feet-dragging, not his; as he mentions in his trade post, he initiated trade proceedings months and months ago, but I dragged things out a bit trying to dig up better stuff from him and hoping he would come across other stuff I liked.  Fortunately, we came to an agreement we were both happy with.  As you'll see in his post, I sent some pretty nice stuff his way, and I'm not usually one to trade autographs for relics, but Greg did an outstanding job making my end of the deal more than fair, and for that, plus his extreme patience throughout our trade deliberations, I salute him.  Onto the haul!:

Andrew Cogliano 2007-08 SP Authentic Sign of the Times auto:  This was one of the last pieces Greg added to the trade, making me especially glad I procrastinated so much.  My 17th hockey hit (jeez, I need to work on that PC) is my second of the dynamic Cogs, making this one of the more exciting pickups of the deal.  Cogliano is now with the Ducks after a couple decent years with his pictured Oilers, and hopefully his talent will bust out sooner rather than later.  This is just a sweet autograph that found a happy home in my Michigan hockey PC.

Alan Trammell 2005 Donruss Greats Souvenirs bat:  Another of the later additions to the deal, there was no way I was turning down adding another relic of Tram to my PC.  In typical Panini fashion, a bunch of the card is wasted, I'm sure to clear space for the versions that are autographed.  Still, I really like the look of the rest of the card, and the vintage pic of the should-be HOF shortstop is great.

Daniel Schlereth 2008 TriStar Prospects Plus Farm Hands auto:  This one might look familiar if you read my blog often enough because I already have the Green version, a card I picked up from Johnny of Cards From the Quarry.  As with that version, the future fireballing RP left a lot of unused space on his sticker for whatever reason, which probably had something to do with having to sign a ton of these, so I won't hold it against him.  These TriStar autos are pretty cool, and who doesn't love awesome minor league team names like the "Missoula Osprey?"

Max Scherzer 2010 Topps Tribute auto jersey:  Here we have what might have been the first card Greg offered me when he first brought up trading, and I never lost interest in acquiring it.  This is definitely one of those times where Topps got it right (stop laughing, it does happen) and I really like the total package here.  As you can see, this one's #d 07/75, and that combined with a very legible "Max" in the signature make this card a win, plus my second Scherzer autograph.

Miguel Cabrera 2011 Topps Heritage Clubhouse Collection jersey:  It's about time I picked up my first relic of Cabrera as a Tiger (my autograph and other jersey both depict him during his Marlins days) and this is a great way to start.  Topps Heritage often produces nice cards and if I have to take a single-colored relic, give me anything but white!  This fits that bill perfectly and is an excellent add to my Tigers PC.

Barry Larkin 2001 SP Game Used Edition Authentic Fabric jersey 

Barry Larkin 2002 Flair Jersey Heights jersey

Barry Larkin 2008 Donruss Threads Century Collection Materials jersey:  Greg offered me three Barry Larkin jerseys and I jumped at the chance to get all three, especially considering my only other hit of him was this Private Stock jersey.  Of the three, the oldest is actually my favorite because the SP Game Used version features a great pinstripe down the middle plus an excellent shot of an outstanding fielder plying his trade.  My second favorite of the trio was the '08 Threads with its striking red jersey swatch (again, single color done RIGHT) and serial numbering--046/100.  The fact that the Jersey Heights card was my least favorite proves just how great all three really are.  Having quadrupled my Larkin collection, I'm now motivated to pursue more stuff of the Michigan legend, including, hopefully, an autograph as soon as possible.

Drew Henson 2002 Fleer Lumber Company bat:  Finally, this fourth Michigan baseball hit closed out the package nicely.  Oddly enough, my other Henson hit is also from 2002 Fleer, in this case an autograph.  We Michigan fans still foster a love-hate relationship with the multi-talented, enigmatic star, but he got a major lesson in karma when he spurned the Wolverines for a Buckeye's money.  All the same, I hope he succeeds at whatever else he does in life.

These nine awesome hits were a great return for the above linked trade package.  I should also give Greg a shout-out for throwing in some extra Tigers stuff including--you guessed it--a Granderson.  Big thanks to Mr. Z for his patience and what turned out to be an excellent trade, something it sounds like we may be repeating very soon!