Thank You to Hire Jim Essian for the pic. Our future!

The last Baseball Recap before the All Star Break. Does that mean that I will take a break from posting baseball stuff? Probably not...

I wanted to devote this week's recap to the players and teams that have flopped this year. For regular readers of the Recap, you know about the Hunter Flops. I know the All Star Game should bring happy feelings to all who care about the game and festivities. We should celebrate good, not bad, right? Well, I wanted to take a different approach to the festivities and create my own tradition. I think we all know by now who has been nice. Now it's time to find out who's been naughty. (okay...A-Rod is not eligible, since statistically, he's still performing pretty darn well. As far as his personal life...leave that to the tabloids. It's tempting to put Roger Clemens on this list as well, but he's not playing and I'm sure there's a reason for that....)

Midseason Hunter Flop Teams:

-Seattle Mariners. The biggest flop without question. I picked them to win 90 games; they might do that over two years. This is a team in total disarray.

-San Diego Padres. I picked them preseason to go to the World Series. Shows you what I know. I thought pitching would carry them.

-Cleveland Indians. Hard to believe this team won the AL Central last year. Packed it in early by trading CC Sabathia. Who's next?

-Detroit Tigers. My preseason World Series champ. Sure, they could still pull it out and win. But they underachieved basically all season long. Considering the money spent, they are a big flop.

-Colorado Rockies. Hard to believe they went to the World Series last year. They have truly tanked this year.

-NL West. As of this writing (Saturday morning), the entire division is under .500. I'm very amazed Arizona is not only under .500, but not blowing this division away. Pathetic.

Midseason Hunter Flop Players:

My All Star Team-The All Flop Team!

C: Paul Lo Duca, Washington. Granted, Lo Duca has been hurt. However, after being traded, there were expectations he would contribute more. Currently hitting .213. Think he's off his steroid cycle this year???

Backup: Jason Veritek, Boston. Yes, you voted him your starting catcher in the mainstream All Star game. His .220 BA I would think is under expectations.

1B: Todd Helton, Colorado. .266 BA and 7HR. No wonder Colorado stinks this year. We expected way more, but could Helton be in decline??

Backup: Richie Sexton, Seattle. Overpaid and underachieving gets you nowhere. It gets you released. At least you get to play in the flop game.

2B: Robinson Cano, NY Yankees. The career .303 hitter now at .250 (which is much higher than it was).

Backup: Freddy Sanchez, Pittsburgh. The career .295 hitter now sitting at .225

SS: Edgar Renteria, Detroit. I think Detroit expected much more than his .254 BA

Backup: Omar Vizquel, San Francisco. I know he's better known for his defense, but a .153 BA?? 120 points below the career average.

3B: Jeff Hannahan. I know, who the hell is this guy? Third Base is a power position and this guy has only 4 HR??

Backup: Ryan Zimmerman, Washington. I know he's been hurt, but when he was healthy, he was spending more time fretting about his contract than performing.

RF: Jeff Francoeur, Atlanta. Over 100 RBI last year; 42 RBI and a .231 BA this year

Backup: I hate to say it, but Ken Griffey Jr. .235 BA and 12 HR. Is he fading??

CF: Andruw Jones, LA Dodgers. How the mighty have fallen. .172 BA

Backup: Corey Patterson, Cincinnati. I'm sad he sucks: .191 BA and only 10 SB

LF: Gary Matthews, JR., SoCal Angels. Another player off the steroids cycle: .239 BA and a benching.

Backup: Wily Mo Pena, Washington: .209 BA. Should have been way better than this.

SP: Barry Zito, San Francisco. 4-12, 5.62 ERA

SP: Pedro Martinez, NY Mets. Yes, he's hurt, but his 6.86 ERA when he was healthy was flopolicious

RP: Joe Borowski, formerly of Cleveland. The 7.56 ERA probably did him in

RP: Eric Gagne, Milwaukee. Wasn't he once the best relief pitcher in baseball?

Would you just crap yourself if this team beat the mainstream All Stars??

Enjoy!