ML Briefs

• Padres ace Jake Peavy, now with a NL leading 18 W's & MLB leading 2.39 ERA, seems to be getting back on track with back-to-back wins, after a terrible outing against the D-Backs in which he allowed 8 earned in 4 IP. For the past month or so, there have been a noticeably fewer of his 01 Bowman Chrome Ref RC's listed on auction. For September, sales have been averaging around $47 TAC; higher than it's July or August averages. Expect sales to increase to the $50-60 range very soon, as Peavy runs away with the NL Cy Young.
  
• Yovani Gallardo pitched 8 shutout innings to beat the Astros on Monday, extending his scoreless streak to 13 innings. His 04 Donruss Elite EE Auto RC #'d 803 has been falling in value every month though, averaging around $59 in June, $54 in July, and $47 in August. Now may be a good time to buy, with sales averaging $43 for the month of September. His 04 SP Prospects Auto RC #'d 400 on the other hand is red hot. It's averaging $110.51, up from $67.37 in August.
  
• Ryan Howard blasted 2 home runs & 5 RBI on Monday, to help his team beat the Cards 13-11. Howard is the #2 HR & RBI hitter in the NL. His 01 UD Prospect Premiers XRC is averaging around $21 TAC this month, with recent sales going for $16-19. There's just too much supply available for this card. His 03 Bowman's Best Auto RC is averaging $374.53 this month, with the Blue version /50 averaging $1,075.50, and one Red version /25 selling for $1,832 TAC. All of Howard's cards are down from their previous highs, and should have room to grow in value as Howard continues to hit home runs. I think that they would benefit even more if he raised his batting average (.262) and struck out less (185).