The All-Star Game rosters have been announced and so have the Home Run Derby participants. The list of power hitters this year looks very exciting – Justin Morneau, Jason Bay, Mark Teixeira, Evan Longoria, Lance Berkman, Prince Fielder, Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard.

Naturally, I’m excited about the Derby and I’ll be watching. However, I’ll also be worrying ever-so-slightly. If you make baseball picks throughout the season, especially if you’re into fantasy ball, you’re probably aware of the supposed “curse” surrounding the Derby. Hitters mess up their swings in the Derby and lose their power after the All-Star Break. Is it real or a myth? Let’s look at the numbers before we decide if the curse will affect our baseball picks going forward.

Not exactly conclusive. Two of the northbet.com baseball winners regressed, but three hit more homers in fewer games after the break. My thinking is that, while these numbers make the curse look more like a myth than not, the curse may apply more to the non-winners – guys like David Wright and Josh Hamilton who pressed to win but fell short.

I’d say you shouldn’t worry too much about the curse when you make baseball picks after the break – just be wary any time someone who isn’t a totally pure power hitter – like Alex Rios in 2007 – steps in for the Derby. That’s probably what happened to Abreu too.