Melky Cabrera and 12 Guaranteed 2nd-Half MLB Disappointments

The funny thing about performing well on the field is that while a player performs well, he will receive adulation from fans, praise from the media and—if he can prove that he isn't a one-hit wonder—a lucrative, long-term contract.

But even if that performance comes over a few months, say the first half of the season, people expect to see a repeat performance—if not a better showing—in the second half.

This theory holds true for players who failed to live up to expectations in the first half, as well. They couldn't possibly play much worse, so it seems as though they can only improve upon their first-half numbers.

Let's take a look at a handful of players who are in danger of not living up to expectations in the second half of the season.

Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Pittsburgh Pirates

First-Half Stats: 76 G, .231/.307/.478, 16 HR, 50 RBI

Alvarez finally started to flash the power that made the Pirates draft him with the second pick in the 2008 amateur draft, but that's been the only positive thing about his offensive game.

He's never seen a pitch that he doesn't like, and thus he's rarely on base—with 101 strikeouts and only 29 walks on the season, when Alvarez isn't going deep, he might as well not even be in the lineup.

It will be an impressive feat if he can remain above the Mendoza line the rest of the way.

Melky Cabrera, LF, San Francisco Giants

First-Half Stats: .353/.391/.519, 8 HR, 44 RBI

There's no question that Melky Cabrera was one of the best players in all of baseball over the first half of the season, but asking him to duplicate that performance in the second half of the season is like asking Roger Clemens to admit that he used PEDs—totally unrealistic.

He's been slightly less productive over the second half during his career, though his first-half numbers are certainly inflated by what he's done thus far in 2012.

Sure, he might wind up finishing the season posting career numbers across the board, including a batting average well north of the .300 mark.

But compared to what he accomplished over the first three months of the season, Cabrera's poised to fall flat in the second half.

Chris Capuano, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers

First-Half Stats: 18 GS, 9-4, 2.91 ERA, 1.16 WHIP

To say that Chris Capuano was a pleasant surprise for the Dodgers in the first half of the season would be an understatement: The 33-year-old southpaw emerged as the team's second best starting pitcher, behind perennial Cy Young candidate Clayton Kershaw, putting together the best 19-game stretch of his eight-year career.

That being said, Capuano is historically a pretty mediocre pitcher in the second half, posting a 20-33 record with a 4.90 ERA over 74 starts.

The Dodgers are one of the better teams in the league, so while Capuano is likely to continue adding to his win total for the season, it's far more likely to be due to solid offensive production behind him rather than lights-out stuff from him.

R.A. Dickey, SP, New York Mets

First-Half Stats: 17 GS, 12-1, 2.40 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 9.2 K/9

Results of the game aside, R.A. Dickey's first half was deserving of the start in this year's MLB All-Star Game for the National League—for while Matt Cain is all but guaranteed of being a perennial All-Star for the better part of the next decade, there's no guarantee that Dickey will ever return.

As for his remarkable first half, expecting Dickey to replicate it over the last three months of the regular season is simply unrealistic, and we've seen signs of a downswing already.

Dickey has posted a 5.40 ERA in two second-half starts, allowing 18 hits and watching batters hit .340 against him.

Ernesto Frieri, Closer, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

First-Half Stats (Combined SD/LAA): 1-0, 0.71 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 14.00 K/9, 11-for-11 SV

All Ernesto Frieri did upon being dealt to the Angels at the beginning of May was throw 26.1 scoreless innings as their closer, nailing down all 11 save opportunities presented to him while solidifying what had been a weakness for the Halos.

Expecting a repeat performance in the second half is unrealistic—even the best relief pitchers in the game give up runs on occasion.

With as impressive a performance as he put forth over the first half of the season, there's nowhere for him to go but down.

Edwin Jackson, SP, Washington Nationals

First-Half Stats: 16 GS, 5-4, 3.73 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 6.8 K/9

While Jordan Zimmerman, Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez all put together All-Star-caliber first halves, Edwin Jackson was just a step behind, putting together his own solid yet unspectacular first three months of the season.

He is historically a less effective pitcher in the second half of the season, though his slide started a bit early this year. Jackson has failed to get out of the sixth inning in any of his past three starts, posting a 10.54 ERA and seeing batters post a .362/.422/.569 batting line against him.

I'm not saying that Jackson will pitch to an ERA over 10 for the rest of the season, but to expect him to improve upon his first half would be setting yourself up to be disappointed.

Ubaldo Jimenez, SP, Cleveland Indians

First-Half Stats: 17 GS, 8-7, 4.50 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 6.8 K/9

You can't be much more disappointing than Ubaldo Jimenez, who has been mediocre at best for the Indians since they traded for him at last year's trade deadline.

Batters managed to hit only .242 against Jimenez in the first half, but a .350 on-base percentage shows that the 28-year-old struggles with his command and location, missing the strike zone far too often for someone the Indians gave up a chunk of their farm system to obtain.

He's gotten shelled in his first two starts of the second half, allowing 13 runs and 14 hits over eight innings, while walking nine and striking out seven.

Jimenez is poised to finish the season with an ERA well north of 5.00 and become a hindrance, not a help, to the Indians' playoff hopes.

Jason Kubel, LF, Arizona Diamondbacks

First-Half Stats: 78 G, .293/.367/.533, 15 HR, 60 RBI

Jason Kubel made Arizona GM Kevin Towers' decision to sign the 30-year-old outfielder to a two-year, $15 million contract this past winter look brilliant in the first half of the season. With Justin Upton's struggles, Kubel became an even bigger part of the Diamondbacks lineup than originally expected.

Over the course of his eight-year career, Kubel has seen his numbers across the board decrease as the season wears on.

While he's on pace to set new career highs in a number of categories, including home runs and RBI, the odds aren't in his favor that he can keep this level of production up for the next three months.

James McDonald, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates

First-Half Stats: 17 GS, 9-3, 2.37 ERA, 0.97 WHIP

I'm still amazed that McDonald didn't get selected for the NL All-Star team after an impressive first half that would have seen him garner significant support for the NL Cy Young Award were the voting held at the All-Star break.

It's possible that the 27-year-old is finally coming into his own and that he'll continue to pitch well for the upstart Pirates, but historically he's been slightly less effective in the second half than the first, with career ERAs of 3.50 and 4.02, respectively.

We've already seen McDonald struggle in his two second-half starts, giving up 10 earned runs and 17 hits over 9.2 innings pitched, while walking 10 and striking out only four.

That's not a good sign, as the Pirates begin to make a serious push to end their 20-year run of futility.

Trevor Plouffe, 3B, Minnesota Twins

First-Half Stats: 66 G, .253/.325/.546, 19 HR, 36 RBI

With Trevor Plouffe finally showing some of the talent that convinced the Twins to select him in the first round of the 2004 amateur draft, nobody—Plouffe included—could have imagined that he would be among the league leaders in home runs through the first half of the 2012 season.

Plouffe is a talented player, one who needed four stays at Triple-A before something finally seemed to click—but to think that he will continue to provide power at the pace he has is foolish.

Over the first half of the season, he was hitting home runs at a pace not seen since Barry Bonds clubbed 73 round-trippers in 2001, and while Plouffe might finally be coming into his own, he's not the game's next great slugger.

He might finish the year with more than 30 home runs, but those expecting him to club another 20 over the season's final three months are sure to be disappointed.

Carlos Ruiz, C, Philadelphia Phillies

First-Half Stats: .350/.412/.584, 13 HR, 46 RBI

One of the more underrated players in baseball since 2010, Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz put together a career first half in 2012, setting a new personal best in home runs while coming within striking distance of surpassing his career highs in virtually every other offensive category.

That being said, Ruiz is highly unlikely to continue posting such gaudy numbers, even with the Phillies lineup finally whole, with the returns of Ryan Howard and Chase Utley.

He'll finish the season with an average well over .300 and should garner more support for the NL MVP than he has in past years—he finished 17th and 23rd in the voting each of the past two seasons, respectively.

But to expect Ruiz to contend for the NL batting crown is unrealistic.

James Shields, SP, Tampa Bay Rays

First-Half Stats: 18 GS, 8-5, 4.17 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 8.3 K/9

I preface including James Shields with this: If Shields does find himself traded out of Tampa Bay, then I fully expect him to put together a solid second half.

But should he remain with the Rays, Shields is likely to prove that his 2011 season, in which he went 16-12 with a 2.84 ERA and 1.02 WHIP, was a fluke and not the norm.

Opposing batters hit Shields in the first half to the tune of a .281/.335/.440 hitting line and 45 extra-base hits, and with Tampa's offense putting up a putrid .233/.316/.376 batting line so far in 2012, Rays starters need to be nearly perfect to rack up victories.

Shields has the ability to dominate opposing lineups—but the frustration of pitching in front of an un-supportive offense coupled with the on-again trade rumors in which he's involved can lead only to continued bouts of ineffectiveness.

Ichiro Suzuki, RF, Seattle Mariners

First-Half Stats: 85 G, .261/.288/.351, 4 HR, 27 RBI

It sure looks as though father time has caught up with Ichiro, who posted the worst first-half numbers of his career for the Mariners, struggling to get on base and no longer flashing the bat speed that has made him a likely Hall of Famer once his career comes to an end.

The second half of the season is traditionally slightly less productive for Ichiro, with a career second half batting line of .319/.358/.412—compared to .326/.373/.423 in the first half—and there's little reason to expect that he'll be able to come near either set of numbers as the season progresses.