Trout prices are going through the roof......

[frikativ54]

It's interesting: I talked with the Astros a few days ago, and they are having their best players wear more jerseys, "to meet demand." While, for your average collector, who just wants a shirt off Jose Altuve's back, that's okay, for me, this is an unwelcome development.

They won't have Altuve wear a jersey a game, or anything like that, but even Houston, which has historically not churned out jerseys, is seeing the value of having players wear more shirts. Per Twitter, Altuve's Sunday alternate will be on MLB.com Auctions shortly.

[danesei@yahoo.com]

Abreu? MVP? Injury or not his chances at the MVP are very very unlikely. For starters his team needs to make the playoffs and then he needs better stats...mostly concerning average.

Abreu is a great player, but at the end of the season I can't even see him in the conversation. It is all start of the season hype, it will come back down soon enough.

That isn't really what I meant to imply. If Abreu wins the HR crown (which isn't exactly unlikely), it stands to reason that MVP voters will say "Oh, it's easy to put up offense in the AL Central" not realizing that the playing in Cellular Field has a lot to do with it, as well.

[MikeKam]

That isn't really what I meant to imply. If Abreu wins the HR crown (which isn't exactly unlikely), it stands to reason that MVP voters will say "Oh, it's easy to put up offense in the AL Central" not realizing that the playing in Cellular Field has a lot to do with it, as well.

Cabrera is having a much better offensive season than Abreu. Only thing Abreu has going for him are home runs.

[danesei@yahoo.com]

Cabrera is having a much better offensive season than Abreu. Only thing Abreu has going for him are home runs.

This statement is about as far from accurate as you can be. Cabrera and Abreu have approximately the same value as players this season. Cabrera's wOBA is .383, while Abreu's is .377. Given that Abreu's BABiP is about 75 points lower than Cabrera's, the two are having very similar seasons, with Abreu suffering from a lot more bad luck. Cabrera's walk rates are well off his career averages, and, so far this season, he hasn't really been Cabrera-like.

The reason this doesn't exactly bode well for Cabrera is the fact that he is normally a fast starter.

While good, and possibly All-Star good, .315/.357/.532 isn't really MVP-caliber. Remember, Cabrera hit .344/.448/.586 in 2011, and he finished 5th in the MVP voting.

I'm not advocating for Abreu to win the MVP award or even suggesting he's in contention for it, but I will hold to my statement that a healthy Abreu has a negative impact on Miggy's chances of the three-peat.

That said, offense has come at such a premium this year, that it's possible Yu Darvish might be the front-runner heading into the All-Star break. He's currently on pace for a WAR in the 9+ range.

[STLHAMMER32]

This is a unique market full of variables to consider.....especially game used bat and fielding glove markets.

The game used card market crashed largely due to the mass exodus to full game used items instead of pieces in my opinion...

Card collecting in general was/is popular because fans want to have something tied to their favorite players. If collectors bail on game used items something must provide a better alternative to get "closer" to the game and player.....besides a scenario like Robert De Niro in the movie The Fan, I don't know how much closer you can get to being a part of the game.


Most players are extremely picky when it comes to two items in particular bats and fielding gloves.....Most players treat their playing gloves like a child and they carefully broken-in to their feel until deemed "game-ready" and from that point on they are to be only handled by a select few any within the team. Bats are usually weighed, prepped, sometimes even blessed and then separated for gamers and bp bats by most players. You will catch players talking to bats, handling bats in between at bats, kissing bats, etc....

Jerseys, cleats, batting gloves, caps, batting helmets are much less personal for most players although everyone has their quirks obviously....for these items teams can mass produce, issue new items, switch each game and flood the market. Good luck getting a player to switch fielding gloves during the year or have a player use multiple bats when they have a bat that feels right at the plate......

True gamers for bats and fielding gloves in my opinion have much less of a chance to "crash" because there will always only be a limited quantity of legitimate actual game used items specifically for these two categories. Game issued would be a different story since bat companies produce more bats and gloves than ever hoping to have the marketing of a MLB player using their equipment.

[MikeKam]

This statement is about as far from accurate as you can be. Cabrera and Abreu have approximately the same value as players this season. Cabrera's wOBA is .383, while Abreu's is .377. Given that Abreu's BABiP is about 75 points lower than Cabrera's, the two are having very similar seasons, with Abreu suffering from a lot more bad luck. Cabrera's walk rates are well off his career averages, and, so far this season, he hasn't really been Cabrera-like.

The reason this doesn't exactly bode well for Cabrera is the fact that he is normally a fast starter.

While good, and possibly All-Star good, .315/.357/.532 isn't really MVP-caliber. Remember, Cabrera hit .344/.448/.586 in 2011, and he finished 5th in the MVP voting.

I'm not advocating for Abreu to win the MVP award or even suggesting he's in contention for it, but I will hold to my statement that a healthy Abreu has a negative impact on Miggy's chances of the three-peat.

That said, offense has come at such a premium this year, that it's possible Yu Darvish might be the front-runner heading into the All-Star break. He's currently on pace for a WAR in the 9+ range.

Well if you want to talk WAR, Cabrera already has a higher WAR with 5 less games played. He started the season (first 20ish games) terribly, but since then he has looked like his usual MVP-self.

[xpress34]

This is a unique market full of variables to consider.....especially game used bat and fielding glove markets.

The game used card market crashed largely due to the mass exodus to full game used items instead of pieces in my opinion...

Card collecting in general was/is popular because fans want to have something tied to their favorite players. If collectors bail on game used items something must provide a better alternative to get "closer" to the game and player.....besides a scenario like Robert De Niro in the movie The Fan, I don't know how much closer you can get to being a part of the game.


Most players are extremely picky when it comes to two items in particular bats and fielding gloves.....Most players treat their playing gloves like a child and they carefully broken-in to their feel until deemed "game-ready" and from that point on they are to be only handled by a select few any within the team. Bats are usually weighed, prepped, sometimes even blessed and then separated for gamers and bp bats by most players. You will catch players talking to bats, handling bats in between at bats, kissing bats, etc....

Jerseys, cleats, batting gloves, caps, batting helmets are much less personal for most players although everyone has their quirks obviously....for these items teams can mass produce, issue new items, switch each game and flood the market. Good luck getting a player to switch fielding gloves during the year or have a player use multiple bats when they have a bat that feels right at the plate......

True gamers for bats and fielding gloves in my opinion have much less of a chance to "crash" because there will always only be a limited quantity of legitimate actual game used items specifically for these two categories. Game issued would be a different story since bat companies produce more bats and gloves than ever hoping to have the marketing of a MLB player using their equipment.

STL -

I highlighted BATTING HELMETS, because with the introduction SPC100 last year, unless a player breaks his helmet, he will more than likely use the same helmet from Spring Training until the end of the season. At $600.00 each (team cost with custom paint and decals), they won't be 'mass producing' batting helmets.

The Old 'Cool Flo' and the helmets before that cost the teams about $125 or so each - less than the cost of a jersey.

Just wanted to put that out there.

- Smitty

[emann]

STL -

I highlighted BATTING HELMETS, because with the introduction SPC100 last year, unless a player breaks his helmet, he will more than likely use the same helmet from Spring Training until the end of the season. At $600.00 each (team cost with custom paint and decals), they won't be 'mass producing' batting helmets.

The Old 'Cool Flo' and the helmets before that cost the teams about $125 or so each - less than the cost of a jersey.

Just wanted to put that out there.

Most teams in the '13 postseason switched star player's helmets out from the regular season ones, I don't think this is an issue, but I wouldn't be surprised if certain teams start pulling helmets for each postseason series or game...

[danesei@yahoo.com]

Well if you want to talk WAR, Cabrera already has a higher WAR with 5 less games played. He started the season (first 20ish games) terribly, but since then he has looked like his usual MVP-self.

I only mentioned WAR, since I don't know how to compare wOBA for hitters to xFIP for pitchers. I don't think the voters look at WAR, but they do seem to trend toward awarding good wOBA numbers.

[danesei@yahoo.com]

Hahahahahahahahaha. Anybody that wants to sell me a Miggy gamer for $700 please contact me immediately. I will buy every mlb authenticated bat you have (Tigers Years).

That's the point. MLB authenticated bats aren't what are selling for the $700 range. Maybe Mike can offer some insight here. I know the original bat that I said was no good had no MLB authentication and even had somewhat questionable origin (looked like a sample bat). Is the new bat that you bought MLB authenticated, Mike?