They were once mighty — players who helped your team race to the top of the standings. You resisted trade offers after their hot starts, saying to yourself, "No way am I trading a guy who has been playing this well."

Then, somewhere along the way, something happened. A nagging injury, an extended cold streak, general fatigue; one or perhaps all of these things contributed to a considerable drop in stats in the second-half, seriously hurting your fantasy team's chances of success.

UPDATE! went ahead and gathered these second-half scrubs and put together a lineup fit for a pauper (after the All-Star break at least). Without further ado, here is 2007's Second-Half Bust Squad:

JOE MAUER, Minessota Twins
First-Half: .309 AVG, 4 HR, 37 RBI, 41 R, 5 SB
Second-Half: .265 AVG, 1 HR, 17 RBI, 17 R, 2 SB
Comment: Was it really last year that Mauer became the first AL catcher to win the batting title? Fantasy owners are sure having a hard time remembering; Mauer has been pedestrian since the All-Star break. While no one expected Mauer to repeat last season's .347 mark, his first half stats put him on pace to set a new career high in runs and solid numbers across the board for a fantasy catcher. With the way he has played since the All-Star break, however, you probably could've found equal or greater production on the waiver-wire with little difficulty.

JUSTIN MORNEAU, Minnesota Twins
First-Half: .295 AVG, 24 HR, 74 RBI, 57 R, 0 SB
Second-Half: .254 AVG, 6 HR, 33 RBI, 24 R, 1 SB
Comment: Morneau looked like a lock to surpass his amazing 2006 home run and run totals while driving in at least 120 RBI. However, thoughts of another huge season from Morneau quickly dissipated after his second half power drop. Thus far he has totaled just one-fourth of his first-half home run total. The Canadian's RBI numbers have plummeted as well, just like his batting average. Really, the only category he hasn't significantly fallen off in is stolen bases, where he has just one on the season. It will be interesting to see where Morneau lands in next year's fantasy drafts.

BRIAN ROBERTS, Baltimore Orioles
First-Half: .324 AVG, 5 HR, 27 RBI, 56 R, 27 SB
Second-Half: .241 AVG, 6 HR, 24 RBI, 40 R, 17 SB
Comment: Of the League's top second baseman, Roberts was the best candidate for a spot on the second-half bust squad. His batting average drop-off (an 83 point difference) is the major contributing factor to his fantasy demotion. Roberts' pathetic .241 average is even worse when you consider that his career batting average is a robust .282 — he is really struggling to hit. All in all, while Roberts' maintained his production in other categories, his batting average dive forced his removal him from the upper-echelon of fantasy two-baggers.

CARLOS GUILLEN, Detroit Tigers
First-Half: .325 AVG, 14 HR, 67 RBI, 51 R, 7 SB
Second-Half: .258 AVG, 5 HR, 29 RBI, 26 R, 4 SB
Comment: What a first-half Guillen had. The man was on pace to hit around 30 home runs and over 100 RBI for the first time in his career. Had he continued his torrid pre-All-Star pace, he would've have ended up a certain Top 5 fantasy shortstop. Unfortunately for Guillen and his fantasy owners, his second-half numbers have been brutal, especially by Guillen's standards — he has hit well over .300 since 2004. The knock on this guy used to be his health, now people are going to have to call in question his consistency.

MELVIN MORA, Baltimore Orioles
First-Half: .266 AVG, 12 HR, 41 RBI, 46 R, 7 SB
Second-Half: .286 AVG, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 12 R, 2 SB
Comment: Mora quietly spent the first half of the season putting together a quality campaign. His .266 batting average aside, Mora was on pace to possibly set a career high in home runs while totaling 85 RBI, 95 runs and 16 stolen bases — great fantasy numbers for a third baseman. His second-half, on the other hand, has been brutal. While his post-All-Star break woes can be greatly attributed to a sore back, there are no excuses in fantasy baseball.

KEN GRIFFEY JR., Cincinnati Reds
First-Half: .286 AVG, 23 HR, 59 RBI, 49 R, 3 SB
Second-Half: .273 AVG, 7 HR, 33 RBI, 29 R, 3 SB
Comment: Junior was on a tear in the first-half, looking like he would hit 40-plus home runs and 100-plus RBI for the first time since 2000. As nice as it would've been for the future Hall-of-Famer, his performance after the All-Star break has made that feat impossible. Fantasy owners would have been wise to flip him for a deal when his value was sky-high.

TORII HUNTER, Minnesota Twins
First-Half: .301 AVG, 19 HR, 69 RBI, 55 R, 11 SB
Second-Half: .274 AVG, 9 HR, 32 RBI, 33 R, 4 SB
Comment: Hunter hasn't been completely useless in the second half, it's just that his post-All-Star break drop off has been staggering. Hunter actually had an outside shot at 40 HR and 130 RBI. Those are sick numbers for the walk-year player. Alas, it was not meant to be as Hunter's numbers across the board took a solid dive, likely costing him a few dollars on the open market this off-season.

VERNON WELLS, Toronto Blue Jays
First-Half: .253 AVG, 13 HR, 50 RBI, 52 R, 5 SB
Second-Half: .242 AVG, 3 HR, 29 RBI, 31 R, 4 SB
Comment: Money-earnin' Vernon got his large payout in 2006 off-season, but the Blue Jays must be wondering if it was cash well spent. He's hit for a poor average all season, but at least V-Dub was on pace to post reasonable home runs, runs and RBI numbers. Fantasy owners who held onto him all season probably feel betrayed for banking on a Wells turnaround that never came, although it is fair to note that most of this is probably due to the bum shoulder he has been playing with. Anyway you slice it, Wells has been horrendous in the second-half.

GARY SHEFFIELD, Detroit Tigers
First-Half: .303 AVG, 21 HR, 58 RBI, 78 R, 12 SB
Second-Half: .201 AVG, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 26 R, 9 SB
Comment: After a shaky start to the season, Sheffield went on a tear-to-end-all-tears, helping the Tigers leap to the top of the AL Central. He looked reborn as Iron-Sheff, part controversy, all talent. Yet his nagging shoulder sapped him of his power in the second-half and his numbers tumbled. He still stole a surprising amount of bags after the All-Star break, but his significant drop in stats severely hurt fantasy owners.

JOHN MAINE, New York Mets
First-Half: 10-4, 2.71 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 93 SO
Second-Half: 4-5, 5.46 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 58 SO
Comment: He was the Maine Man in the Mets rotation early in the season, rolling through opposing lineups with poise and ease. There were even some Cy Young whispers with the way he was throwing. That praise has been silenced in the second-half, where Maine is currently fighting for a spot in the post-season rotation. Who would've thought that someone who looked so impressive would collapse so quickly? But then again, that's baseball.

DAISUKE MATSUZAKA, Boston Red Sox
First-Half: 10-6, 3.84 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 123 SO
Second-Half: 4-6, 5.37 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 63 SO
Comment: The first-half of baseball saw Dice-K striking out over a batter an inning, while compiling respectable ERA/WHIP totals to go along with an impressive 10 wins. In the second-half, disaster struck. Maybe it was MLB teams seeing more of him or perhaps the grind of American ball had taken its toll, but whatever the reason, rolling the Dice-K has been a risky endeavor for fantasy owners in the second-half.

BILLY WAGNER, New York Mets
First-Half: 1-0, 17 SV, 1.64 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 51 SO
Second-Half: 1-2, 17 SV, 3.46 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 26 SO
Comment: Hey, who else would be closing games for the Second-Half Busters besides Billy "Can't Get it Done in a Big Spot" Wagner? Is there anyone shakier in a big situation than Wagner? Early in the season, people were calling him one of the best closers in the game. Now those same people are pointing to his 8.71 post-season ERA and saying what most of us already knew: when the game is on the line, you do NOT want Billy Wagner pitching for your team.



Starbonell is UPDATE! Major League Baseball Editor.