Baseball kicks off its All-Star festivities Monday night at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Most fantasy owners will kick back and enjoy the show.

The three-day All-Star Break gives owners a much-needed siesta from the daily grind of adjusting lineups, scouring the waiver wire and deciding how to rid themselves, er trade Andruw Jones. But the All-Star festivities are not as fantasy-irrelevant as many think.

One of the most popular features of the Break is the Home Run Derby. Upper-deck shots, big swings, ESPN's Chris Berm'n really reaching for some of his jokes — all of it makes for, arguably, the greatest All-Star related event in all of sports.

But fantasy owners know there's a dark side to the Derby, too. First-half bombers seem to lose their home run swagger after competing in the Derby.

Need proof?

Let's start with 2006 runner-up David Wright. The New York Mets third baseman hit 20 home runs in the first half but struggled mightily after the Break and managed to hit only 6 homers the rest of the way.

New York Yankees outfielder Bobby Abreu, perhaps the most cited example of the Derby Jinx, set the record for home runs in a Derby by smashing 41 in 2005. He also ended up hitting only 6 more homers that season and looks like he will never hit 30 homers again.

Baltimore Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada won the contest in 2004 and hit 34 dingers that season, but he has yet to touch 30 homers again. (He's currently sidelined by a hand injury.)

Isolated cases? Not so fast. Of the eight contestants a year ago, only winner Ryan Howard picked up his home run pace where he left off. Howard actually hit 30 second-half homers, two more than before the Break. But the other seven saw their producation drop.

Players have taken note of this disturbing trend. Wright, for his part, declined to participate in San Francisco. Big league home run leader Alex Rodriguez bowed out long before he tweaked his hamstring.

So pay attention fantasy owners. A strong showing by your guy in the Derby may mean nothing. Or it could be the last time you see him hit a homer this season. What you do from here is up to you. Just don't say UPDATE! didn't warn ya.

Starbonell is UPDATE! Major League Baseball Editor.

San Francisco's AT&T Park offers a picture-perfect backdrop to the game, which is Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on FOX. The National League leads the series 40-35-2 since the first game in 1933, although the American League has won the last 10 match-ups. Texas Rangers shortstop Michael Young hit a ninth-inning, two-out, two-strike triple that scored the tying and winning runs in last year's Midsummer Classic; he went on to win the MVP award for the game. San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds will be starting in front of his home crowd and all eyes will be glued on the controversial slugger to see if he can slam one out of the park.

Lots of new faces are set to play in Tuesday's All-Star game, with San Diego Padres SP Chris Young looking to leave his mark. Young was inexplicably left off the original roster and had to be voted in the final internet ballot by the fans, who sensibly put the man with 2.00 ERA in the game. Young has been an absolute ace pitcher thus far in 2007 and with the way the Padres are playing, he should be good to go for the second half of the year.

Another All-Star newbie is Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Russell Martin. Martin was voted in as a starter and has been a top-producing talent at the shallow catcher position this season. He currently projects to finish with about 30 SBs and leads all backstops in runs, all while hitting for average. It will be interesting to see what happens in the second half as catchers can tend to wear down offensively as the season drags on.

One player that is new to the All-Star that cannot be forgotten is Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder. He has been smoking the ball in 2007 and is on pace to hit over 50 HRs. His production has slowed down over the past two weeks, but Fielder is a beast at the plate and should get it going again soon.