A bunch of trades... and a surprise...

Ok, a lot of trades to detail today...

Let me take a moment to say, if you don't follow all of these bloggers' blogs, your mother is a hamster... get over to your google reader (or other acceptable RSS feed reader) and add them now... they all rock at what they do, and they are great traders... do it! NOW! FOLLOW THEM!!! Alright, now that we have that bit of business settled, onto the trades...

First of all, we have Justin from the aptly named blog Justin's World. We had worked out a trade a while back, and he was in the Artifacts group break... anyways, he got his cards over to me recently after a bout with the flu (hope you're feeling better buddy)... The highlights were a couple TTM style autos and a Roy Oswalt jersey relic from 2008 A&G.
Thanks Justin!

Next up is Robert from $30 A Week Habit... we worked out a deal for the Edwin Encarnacion "Titanic Load of Crap Threads" card I pulled from Marquee... since it had previously sold on eBay for $1.72, I took what I could get for it...

A nice thick windowed auto of another failed Astros prospect! Failed prospect for a failed idea-for-a-hit, done! Thanks Robert!

Next up is Dennis from that great Blue Jays blog Pictures of Men. He really wanted the Halladay from the Marquee I pulled, and after mulling over his offer, I settled on this beauty... my first ever truly vintage baseball card... a buyback at that... oooo... so nice...

Wow, a T206... I'm geeked... no, I'd never heard of the guy, but it's a T206!! Like from 1911!!!! It's 100 years old... SWEET!!!! I know some of you Cubs collectors will want this card, but sorry, it's going into the permanent collection. Dennis, you are a gentleman and a scholar! Hope you enjoy the Halladay!

Finally, we have a deal with one of my favorite bloggers out there. Greg "Don't misspell my last name like you always do" Zakwin from Plaschke, They Sweater Is Argyle. Greg and I work up big Astros-for-Dodgers swaps (and for some reason he also wants my Reds, he's getting a bit greedy, that one) but I digress, the trades are epic and when we finally get a good stack together, we start sending packages through the time-space continuum (also known as USPS)... well, I was more than excited to find this awesome cards in my mailbox just yesterday:

Well, the scanner is being a bit of a jerk today, cutting off the bottom edges... but you get the gist... great cards! A new Clemens for the binder and an awesome Bagwell. Pence RC, thank you more please and a Chad Qualls auto, alway good to add an auto from the mid 2000's from a solid bullpen member... You may be wondering at this point why I haven't wrapped up this post and allowed you to move on with your day... well, because after these cards came out of the magic bubble mailer, another smaller package fell out. Wrapped like a Christmas present and labeled to "OPEN LAST SAM" I figured I should wait and open it last... so I did... and got great surprise!!!!

Wait a second... if you look at my "keepers spreadsheet" you'd see I already had this card! (Greg noted as much on the note he included), but in an incredibly sneaky move, Greg included another card, RIGHT BEHIND THE FIRST ONE!!!!

THAT SCOUNDREL! Sending me a British chap with his mocking stare and debonair shoulder tassles! I have had enough of this haberdashery and tomfoolery. Ok, I totally just wrote that last sentence so that I could use "haberdashery" and "tomfoolery" on my blog. I know the definition of neither. Anyways, the card is awesome... from 1911 I do believe (if my crack eBay research team, i.e. the dog) is to be believed! In one 24 hour period, I end up with 2 cards 100 years old! AMAZING! Greg, don't think this good deed goes unpunished, you will face the wrath of the surprise awaiting you when you get my package (if I would just go to the post office already and mail it, that threat would be SO much less empty)... soon, very soon...

Thanks for the great trades everyone... and I commend anyone who made it to the end of this post... you're a brave soul or just entirely too bored.... probably the later...

Good day everyone!