It's been something of a myth for years - the home run derby causes guys to screw up their swings for the second half, so the better sluggers - A-Rod and Manny this year - decline their invitations and leave it to the young guns. Numerous players have used it as an excuse to get an extra day off (whether right or wrong), but the fans are left to suffer the consequences as we're forced to watch the likes of Ivan Rodriguez (2000), Bret Boone (2001 and 2003), Hank Blalock (2004) and Hee-Seop Choi (2005) fill in for more capable home run hitters. In that vein, let's take a look at the pre- and post-break numbers for the eight 2008 Home Run Derby competitors as of Sunday the 27th.

Justin Morneau
Pre-ASB (365 AB) - .323 BA, .391 OBP, 14 HR, 68 RBI, 55 R
Post-ASB (31 AB) - .258 BA, .484 OBP, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 8 R

Josh Hamilton
Pre-ASB (380 AB) - .310 BA, .367 OBP, 21 HR, 95 RBI, 60 R
Post-ASB (34 AB) - .206 BA, .294 OBP, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 4 R

Lance Berkman
Pre-ASB (334 AB) - .347 BA, .443 OBP, 22 HR, 73 RBI, 79 R
Post-ASB (32 AB) - .313 BA, .500 OBP, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 4 R

Ryan Braun
Pre-ASB (379 AB) - .286 BA, .324 OBP, 23 HR, 66 RBI, 52 R
Post-ASB (42 AB) - .452 BA, .524 OBP, 5 HR, 14 RBI, 7 R

Dan Uggla
Pre-ASB (303 AB) - .286 BA, .374 OBP, 23 HR, 59 RBI, 58 R
Post-ASB (33 AB) - .121 BA, .212 OBP, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 6 R

Grady Sizemore
Pre-ASB (362 AB) - .273 BA, .374 OBP, 23 HR, 54 RBI, 60 R
Post-ASB (36 AB) - .306 BA, .556 OBP, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 6 R

Chase "Boo? F*** You" Utley
Pre-ASB (364 AB) - .291 BA, .372 OBP, 25 HR, 69 RBI, 68 R
Post-ASB (35 AB) - .257 BA, .314 OBP, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 3 R

Evan Longoria
Pre-ASB (306 AB) - .275 BA, .348 OBP, 16 HR, 53 RBI, 46 R
Post-ASB (35 AB) - .314 BA, .486 OBP, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 6 R

Now, the games played thus far in second half constitute an admittedly small sample size (10 or so games for each team), but given that the second half is about 30 games shorter than the first, it doesn't bode well for a player if they start off the first 10+ games that slowly. A player's performance following the All Star break is most likely dependent on many other factors including but not limited to what injuries or various sorenesses they may be dealing with, as well as issues away from the field that may affect their play (not to mention the fact that guys playing in both the Home Run Derby and All Star Game get basically no time off in relation to their non-All Star counterparts). Therefore, it's impossible to say without a shadow of a doubt that the Home Run Derby messes up guys' swings, but in a general sense, it appears that all those monster hacks have hurt some of this year's competitors (Uggla, Utley and Berkman most prominently), lending credence to star players' decisions to skip the events. Regardless of these findings, it still would have been nice to see Manny participate if this really is his last season in a Red Sox uniform...