All-Star Game Reportcard

Some quick grades for the Sox stars in last night’s All-Star Game, all while pondering how managers Jim Leyland and Tony LaRussa have learned to put their clothes on every morning:

In the latest signature moment of his dominant season, Josh Beckett earned an All-Star win last night.

HITTERS:

Mike Lowell: A
Is anyone surprised that Doctor Double had a great game in the All-Star Game, too? Lowell smacked a single straight through to center in the eighth, then scored on a deep homer by Victor Martinez to give the AL enough to hold on. Once again, the throw-in piece in the Josh Beckett deal shows what he’s been worth. And again, it shouldn’t have been a surprise: Lowell is now 4-for-7 lifetime in All-Star Games.

David Ortiz: B-
Big Papi couldn’t knock in a hit, but he did make great contact in his second at-bat, lining out impressively to Ken Griffey Jr. And while that might not be enough to get him a high pass normally, his spotless work at first base, particularly compared to the struggles of NL 1-bagger Prince Fielder, made him look even better.

Manny Ramirez: D
Another uneventful performance for ManRam, who flashed warning track power while pinch hitting in the third. Hey, this guy isn’t even putting up any power when the games don’t count. Things just get more and more troubling in Mannyland.

PITCHERS

Josh Beckett: A
The ace showed why he should have started the game, working two innings of scoreless relief by mixing power with finesse to bail out hometown starter Dan Haren … and eventually earn the win. See that Leyland? That’s why he was supposed to be your starter.

Jonathan Papelbon: A-
The fire-balling closer gave up an eighth-inning hit to his first batter, but still set the table by using his dominant fastball to record to K’s. In fact, Papelbon was the AL’s most impressive reliever who isn’t usually a starter. His eighth inning was the key factor in allowing the AL to escape after the ninth-inning control struggles of J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez.

Hideki Okajima: Incomplete
It’s never fair, but some of the studs in the pen and on the bench never get to hit the field. Last night, one of those studs was Okaji, who earned a nice little All-Star Game check for sitting and smiling in the bullpen. Last year it happened to Papelbon, so this is hardly unprecedented for Sox relievers, and Okie was probably the next bail out man off the pine if Rodriguez had imploded like Putz did. But he didn’t, and so Okie got more rest instead of a workout. Here’s betting he probably didn’t mind.

MANAGERS

Jim Leyland: C-
For a guy many call a baseball genius, Leyland gave people plenty to second-guess him about. Not starting Beckett? That didn’t look so smart. Going to Putz to close instead of Papelbon? Yeah, not such a hot idea. Still, with the help of Lowell and Martinez, he got bailed out for a win. Sometimes you just can’t lose.

Tony LaRussa: F-
Are you kidding me? You have the best player in baseball, first baseman Albert Pujols, sitting on the bench, and you don’t bring him in to try to win the game with two-down in the ninth? Obviously, what makes it even stupider is that Pujols is his player. It’s like the American colonists having George Washington waiting to take the helm, but tapping John Hancock because they didn’t want Philadelphians thinking they were favoring their own players. Yeah, that would have worked out well. Here’s betting LaRussa may have just worked himself out of a job, and not just an All-Star gig.