2014 trade package #3: Brad nails it

Keeping up with yesterday's theme of my first trade with a particular blogger since late 2012, here's another fantastic package I received, my second from whatever the guy's name is that runs Brad's Blog.  The Ryan Howard aficionado (the MLB player, not the character on The Office) highlighted some trade bait not too long ago and I jumped all over a card that especially interested me.  In return, I'll be sending Brad a few cards I think he'll be pretty excited about--you know, as soon as they make it into my hands first.  In the meantime, he actually asked if it was ok if he threw in some other Tigers?  As if anybody needs my permission!  Here's what the Philly Fanatic sent me this time:

Tigers, part 1.  A good mix of players here, with my favorite being the sparkly Bonderman, but a trio of Miggys is always welcome too!

More Tigers, and a good bunch at that.  I'd call the two Kaline inserts the highlights of this scan, but the CYMTO of Fidrych is great as well.  AND I got another Granderson.

Best scan of the package?  Just three players and they're all outstanding:  Scherzer, Tram, and JV.  Better yet, one of the Verlanders is a Topps Gold parallel, one of my traditional favorites.

You can't really have Trammell without Whitaker, and fortunately Brad got that right, including a sweet double-play card.  I also wanted to show off a few of the inserts he included, such as the Higginson Refractor, which is a beautiful card of a player I don't care for, and will reside with the rest of my Tigers inserts. Much of the rest of this scan has me seeing Red too.

Here's a last of the bonus Tigers, including a few misc. players and prospects.  Three of them--Iggy, Smyly, and Rondon--are rising stars that could be a big part of a successful 2014 Tigers season.  The Deivi Cruz is a nice action shot that got Chrome-ified.  And the Rivera takes me back to the early 00s when he was a catcher with huge offensive potential.  Speaking of offensive, all of the Chrome cards were impossible to keep straight and in line with the rest of the stuff in the scan thanks to their infamous bowing--I think I spent five minutes trying to get them just right and finally gave up!

And now for the card that originated this here trade:

Drew Smyly 2012 Topps Chrome Rookie Autographs Blue Refractor auto (#039/199)

BLUE REFRACTOR IS BEST REFRACTOR.  I'm not a prospector by any means, but considering Smyly's potential and flashes of brilliance last year, I jumped at getting this gorgeous auto before the kid hypothetically blows up.  And even if he blows IT instead, it still looks great alongside the "base" version, a card I landed in a previous trade with Sam the Dimwit.  It's a Refractor, a Tiger, an autograph, and it's blue--what more could I ask for?

Thanks again for a fantastic trade, Brad, and I promise I'll have a response out to you just as soon as the COMC package arrives in my mailbox, and I'll load it up with a few surprise bonuses as well.  Readers, show some brotherly love to a great blogger by heading over to Brad's Blog tonight!