Questionable All Stars Pt. 4: Mark Loretta

The All Star selection process is such a subjective procedure that sometimes deserving players get left off. Then there are times when players who do not deserve to be All Stars are named to the team.

MARK LORETTA
In 2006, new Red Sox second-baseman Mark Loretta was elected to start the All Star game over Yankees Robinson Cano. Loretta was a fairly normal everyday middle infielder, who could hit for contact but not much else. His season line was .285/.345/.361/.706. He hit five home runs and drove in 59.

In the first half, Loretta was hitting .305/.353/.385/.738. He was certainly playing better in the first half. He also played good defense and had some clutch hits, which probably helped his case.

At the end of the year though, it's pretty weird to look at his stats and realize that he started the All Star game. It was mostly due to his team. Had to be.

Boxscore: August 8, 2006: Royals 6 vs. Red Sox 4

This is, to this date, the last Red Sox game I have attended. My friend from work and I went down to Kansas City to see the Red Sox take on the Royals. This was during a particularly cold streak for Boston and they could not win a single game against the Royals that series. Injuries had decimated the team and the pitching was particularly hurt.

Jon Lester started the game, but he was a rookie and was very wild. He pitched five innings, giving up four runs, three walks, and five strikeouts. Of course, the bullpen was pretty bad and Craig Hansen and Rudy Seanez each gave up a run. Julian Tavarez also pitched in the game.

The big bright spot for the game was Wily Mo Pena who hit a ball so hard that the outfielders did not even move. The ball landed on top of the concession stand and was one of the furthest hit home runs in Kaufman Stadium history. David Ortiz also hit a home run in the game, his 41st. Manny Ramirez, Alex Gonzalez, and recent pickup Javy Lopez each had two hits in the game. Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis also each had a hit. Ramirez, Lopez, Youkilis, and Gonzalez each had a double. Coco Crisp stole a base, and Mark Loretta and Alex Cora each had two hitless at-bats.

The Royals simply played better than the Red Sox that game.

Boxscore: May 26, 2006 Red Sox 8 vs. Devil Rays 4

This is the only game so far that I have attended at Fenway Park.

My parents took me to Boston as a gift for graduating from law school. We spent a long weekend there doing a bunch of tourist stuff. The main reason for going though was to see this game. We were lucky to see a game at all as it was raining pretty hard immediately before the game.

David Wells started the game and pitched pretty well for 4.1 innings until being taken out after a line drive caught him in the knee. He gave up five hits and one earned run on a home run to Carl Crawford. Julian Tavarez came in to pitch 2.1 innings to pick up the win. He gave up two more runs. Keith Foulke pitched .1 innings and gave up another run. Rudy Seanez then came in to pitch 1.2 innings and handed it off to Jonathan Papelbon, the rookie closer who saved the game, getting the last out. The Red Sox bullpen got the job done, but it was pretty ugly. That was not a good year for the bullpen other than Papelbon.

The offensive star was Mike Lowell who had three hits, including a home run and a double. He drove in two runs. David Ortiz also added a double and single, driving in four. The other two runs were driven in by Mark Loretta and Trot Nixon. Kevin Youkilis, Jason Varitek, and Wily Mo Pena each had a single and a run. Alex Gonzalez had three hits and a run. Manny Ramirez also had a single and Willie Harris appeared as a defensive replacement for Pena.

All in all, this was a great game and is still the only time I have been to Fenway Park.