The requests are out. Now we wait.

This morning, the last batch of my spring training TTM requests went out. I don't intend on sending any more, unless there are one or two stragglers I didn't think of the first time around.

I have a nice mixture of guys I sent to this year, hoping that I end up with more success than I have the past couple of years. I've seen the numbers dwindling. I'm not sure if players are signing less, or just getting more mail, or a combination of both. However, it's not as easy as it was in the '90s and 2000s. So I'm just trying to be a little smarter about it.

I sent about 20 customs (created through the Rookies App) to guys who didn't have a Yankees card, or who haven't been featured in a team set yet. They may have just been a short-time Yank or a new acquisition. I sent to a few coaches across the league as well.

Lastly, I have a few requests out to complete 2015 in my Topps Yankees Project.

All in all, 46 requests when out, which is about 20 more than I was planning on sending, but I got in a groove while my wife was watching some HGTV crap.

While we wait for some returns, here are some nice TTM successes from past years. I've had many successes, and this is just a random sampling. Enjoy!

 

TTM Success: Hiroki Kuroda

On Saturday, Kenny over at Cervin' Up Cards posted a TTM success from Hiroki Kuroda. I commented that I also had an ask out to Kuroda, and hoped mine would be coming back soon. That it did! I was out of town, but when I returned yesterday, a single, lonely SASE sat in my mailbox (you know, sandwiched between two bubble mailers of cards).

Hiroki Kuroda signed my 2014 Topps card. The signature didn't stick to the card perfectly, but overall, a very nice success from Kuroda. I'm a big fan of his, and really appreciate the time he takes to sign for fans.

Some eBay sellers rock

Sometimes, eBay sellers are awesome for no reason. Seriously. A few weeks ago, I picked up a few Bowman Yankee autographs. Each one was running about $2, and I noticed the seller had combined shipping. I always hear other bloggers talking about taking advantage of combined shipping, so I looked at what else he had ending around that time, and nabbed two more Yankee autos.

When the package came, I noticed a few additional cards in between the two of the Yankee autographed cards. The seller correctly assumed I was a Yankee fan, and threw in some truly sweet Yankees parallels! Check out what he sent: 

 

Truly awesome cards. Hensley is a PC guy, so love the sweet Bowman Ice of him as well.

TTM Success: Two roll in from ST

Last week, I had two spring training successes roll in. I figure it was guys cramming answering their mail before they had north.

The first was a 2013 Topps Hiroki Kuroda. I now have the choice of using him or David Robertson for my Topps Yankees Project. That may be a decision based on who I can get to sign for 2014.

The second success is from Boone Logan. I love TTMs of relievers and guys who don't appear on cards very much, so this is cool.

TTM recap - 2012 Spring Training

This spring, I sent 41 TTM requests out. I received successes from 17 of them. I also received one failure (a card returned unsigned). Therefore, 23 went unanswered. Now, I will never write any of these off. They could still trickle in, but for the most part, it looks like I batted a little under .500 this spring. I know that’s part of the game, so I’m not upset. A few players were reaches and I knew that going in.

Here are my successes from 2012 Spring Training:

Ackley, Dustin

Adams, David

Brackman, Andrew

Higashioka, Kyle

Kuroda, Kiroki

Laird, Brandon

Martinez, Tino

Melancon, Mark

Nix, Jayson

Noesi, Hector

Pendleton, Lance

Rivera, Mariano

Romine, Austin

Soriano, Rafael

Stoneburner, Graham

Taillon, Jameson

Warren, Adam

TTM Success: Hiroki Kuroda

New Yankee starter Hiroki Kuroda signed the card I sent to him at Yankees spring training. From what I’ve seen, Kuroda seems to be a classy player who does and says all of the right things. I look from him to throw around 180 innings this yeah with an ERA right around 4.0. I’m sure he’ll find life in the AL East a bit more difficult than the NL West, but should find success by facing hitters who haven’t seen him much, as well as working with former battery-mate Russell Martin. I love the one-year deal for Kuroda while the Yanks prospects continue to develop. I’d much rather sign pitchers to one year deals instead of making multi-year commitments. See Burnett, AJ.

This was the only Kuroda card I own, but luckily it’s a nice A&G RC and the signature looks really good.

Wow. Shocking trade!

Tonight I came home from work, had a bite to eat, and settled in to catch up on the DVR. The baby just fell asleep and I was looking forward to relaxing for a bit. Then I checked one of my favorite Yankee blogs real quick, just to see if anything was new. I was greeted with the headline:

"Yankees trade Montero, Noesi for Pineda, Campos"

WHAT?! Is this a joke? I clicked on the story expecting to see "Just kidding." Nope, the reports were flooding in. Once my heart settled down, I started to think about it and really like it. Montero is a stud, and I've been waiting for his arrival for years. He didn't disappoint this September. I was attached to him as a top prospect, and it's always hard to lose your number one guy.

However, bats can be found anywhere. Young starting pitchers who are studs? Not everywhere. Pineda has the makings of a future ace. Then, with the signing of Kuroda, the Yanks rotation turned into one of the best in baseball. Look at this:

Sabathia
Pineda
Kuroda
Nova
Hughes/Burnett/Garcia

Wow. That's pretty damn good. Well, you can never have too much pitching, but I expect one to be dealt, likely Hughes. The Yanks will also bring in a bit to share some DH duties. Rumors have them targeting Carlos Pena.

So what was an incredibly slow, quiet offseason for the Yankees changed in a matter of moments on Friday the 13th. I welcome Michael Pineda and hope he has a long career in the Bronx. Jesus, I'll miss you. Best of luck in Seattle.