Lizard's Rant

Guest post by Cardcollectingrambler from Break Open Another Box!

Below are some of the players’ rookie cards that experienced notable gains or loses in market value, from week to week. The first price is the average TAC for the week of 8/5, and the second is the average for the week of 8/12.

• 94 SP Alex Rodriguez - $110.96 -> $91.48 (-17.6%)
• 94 SP Alex Rodriguez D/C - $97.07 -> $110.93 (+14.3%)
• 04 Bowman Chrome Felix Hernandez Auto - $117.49 -> $98 (-16.6%)
• 04 DE EE Yovani Gallardo Auto #’d 803 - $54.04 -> $45.49 (-15.8%)
• 05 Bowman Sterling Ryan Braun Auto - $79.19 -> $90.16 (+13.9%)
• 05 Bowman Chrome Ryan Braun Auto - $165.59 -> $192.91 (+13.8%)

A Rod’s SP & SP D/C RC’s seem to be undergoing a market correction, with the D/C version finally regaining it’s higher value position over the more commonly found base version. Both of these cards are currently selling for wide price ranges. In one day, I saw one D/C sell for $185, then another one sold not that long after for $80. Guess it all depends on how the card is marketed, auction timing and the perceived quality of the card by the bidders.

Felix Hernandez has still been struggling to get back to his pre-injury form, and his RC cards are reflecting this delay. As long as he continues to plug along, I don’t think that his cards will drop anymore. They should begin to rise up again as his pitching improves. With Seattle playing as well as they are, King Felix may have a chance to pitch in the post season, which would showcase his skills to a much wider audience, and possibly stir up more hobby buzz for his cards (as long as he pitches well of course!).

Yovani Gallardo, with his 3-1 record & 2.55 ERA through 8/3, was on the verge of hitting it big in the hobby, until he had back-to-back bad starts, allowing 18 ER in 8-1/3 innings pitched. That ballooned his ERA to 4.84, and pulled his RC values down. He recovered in his last start, tossing 6 shutout innings and helping his team to beat the NL West-leading D-Backs. I think that collectors are waiting to see how he does in his next start to determine which direction his pitching will likely go, before they start pushing his card values up again.

What can I say about Ryan Braun? He’s probably been the hottest player in the hobby since the All-Star break. Since June, a lot of his Auto RC cards have just about doubled in TAC price, making some people very happy for buying in early, and others very sad for not. I expect his cards to start leveling off in the weeks to come (unless he does something miraculous), since a lot of their potential value is now probably already built in to the current price levels.

Please check out my blog, Break Open Another Box!, for more of my ramblings!