It's easy to look at elite pitchers' overall numbers and assume they're a strong bet down the stretch, but that isn't always the case. Many of baseball's top hurlers have struggled in the second half of the season, including a few that tend to make it an annual tradition.
Here are five big-name pitchers that haven't been worth their hefty price tags since the All-Star break.
Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays
Doc's year has gone the way of the Blue Jay - flying high early and then hitting a mid-season swoon. Halladay was money in the bank in the opening weeks of the year, winning 10 of his first 11 decisions, as the Blue Jays raced out to a 27-14 start. Since then, the 2003 AL Cy Young Award winner is 5-8 despite being favoured in all but one of those 16 contests, and Toronto faded from the playoff race long ago . While Halladay might have been distracted by mid-season trade rumors this year, he has shown a tendency to slow in the second half over his career. In the previous three seasons, he had a 33-11 record before the all-star break and a 19-12 mark after it. Doc picked up a win over the Yankees Tuesday night.
Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox
Beckett is known for elevating his game in the playoffs, but he tends to struggle in the second half of the regular season. He's only 4-3 with a 4.60 ERA since the break, following an 11-3, 3.35 start to the year. In the previous three seasons, Beckett was 32-11 in the first half and 15-17 after the break.
Despite being substantial favorites in most of Beckett's starts, the Red Sox have gone only 6-5 with him on the bump in the second half. Two of those victories came when Boston was a -300 favorite or higher.
Dan Haren, Arizona Diamondbacks
Haren has shown a tendency over the years to burn it up early and flame out late, and this season is no exception. He was 9-5 with a 2.01 ERA at the All-Star break, but is 5-3 with a 4.08 allowance since. In the previous three seasons, Haren allowed approximately 1.5 runs more per game after the break than before.
The oddsmakers appear to have caught on to Haren's tendencies, however. He's been favored in only three of his past six starts and was a +154 dog when the D-Backs lost 8-1 to the Philadelphia Phillies Aug. 19. Haren won as a -138 favorite Tuesday.
A.J. Burnett, New York Yankees
In his first season wearing Yankee pinstripes, Burnett started with an 8-4 mark. However, he's only 3-5 with a 5.12 ERA since the break, dropping five of his last six decisions. Those defeats have been costly for New York backers - three of those losses came as chalk of -200 or more, including a 7-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles as a -320 favorite last weekend.
Burnett's second-half struggles contradict his career tendencies. From 2006-08, Burnett was 16-15 before the break and 22-9 afterwards.
Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants
Cain was able in the first half of the season, entering the break with a 10-2 record and 2.39 ERA. His ERA, though still excellent, has risen to 2.95 in the second half and he's fallen out of NL Cy Young contention with only three wins since the break. The Giants have been favoured in six of his last eight starts, going 4-4 during that span.
Cain is only 24 and is still improving, so it's difficult to put much stock in his previous second-half performances. A lack of run support is more to blame for Cain's post-break numbers.
Stats as of Wednesday, September 16.