The 2001 Red Sox were a band of misfits and malcontents. They got Jimy Williams fired, and they were the last Sox club to not win at least 10 more games than it lost. They were also Boston’s last team with fewer than three All-Stars.

Though the last of those infamous labels may be lifted today.

The American and National League rosters are announced this afternoon on TBS, and though those revelations coincide with these Sox’ best stretch of baseball — a surge that puts them among the handful of the game’s best teams over the past seven weeks — it’s difficult to see a scenario in which more than two of their players are picked to help the AL attempt to win home-field advantage for the World Series.

It would end a five-year run during which the Sox have sent at least six players to every midsummer classic, a testament to the team’s popularity and productivity, but this year the middling outfit seems to have just one certainty.

That’s David Ortiz, the 36-year-old who will likely be announced as the fan-voted starter, but is deserving of a spot on the club no matter the means of selection. He entered Saturday night’s game at Seattle hitting .307 with 21 home runs and 53 runs batted in, and as of Friday the AL’s leader in extra-base hits was also one of only three hitters ranked among the league’s top 10 in all three triple-crown categories.

At 1.020, his on-base plus slugging began the weekend as the AL’s second-best, and at .934 Toronto’s Edwin Encarnacion was the only player who’s primarily a DH within 139 points. There’s no doubt Ortiz deserves his spot on the squad.

After that, Jarrod Saltalamacchia is the next-most-likely of his teammates to be told today he’s not getting a four-day vacation. Offensively, the numbers are certainly there: Friday night he crushed his 15th tater, and even before that he led the majors in homers, extra-base hits and slugging percentage by a catcher. His productivity at the plate would be good no matter where he was on the field, but it’s been particularly excellent considering the demanding position he plays.

Saltalamacchia’s candidacy could run into a couple of obstacles, however. First is the defense factor. The Sox backstop has thrown out only nine of 53 attempted base stealers — that’s 17 percent; league average is 26 percent — and he’s also committed six errors. Additionally, as of Friday the Boston pitching staff had an earned run average more than half a run better when throwing to backup Kelly Shoppach.

Those facts won’t help him if the second obstacle comes into play for Saltalamacchia. It’s the reality of the numbers game. Ranger backstop Mike Napoli probably doesn’t deserve to go to Kansas City, but at last count he appeared assured of winning the fan vote. Joe Mauer of the Twins was through Friday hitting .324 with a .415 OBP, so his spot is likely secure. That leaves the last spot a choice between Saltalamacchia and Chicago’s A.J. Pierzynski, who has a higher average, better defensive credentials and similar power totals. That choice could go either way.

And if the decision is White Sox over Red, Ortiz is probably bound for a solo mission. Adrian Gonzalez and Dustin Pedroia are typically fixtures of the event, but neither has done enough to even warrant a spot in the conversations at first and second base this season. Will Middlebrooks has been fantastic, but not as good as Miguel Cabrera or Adrian Beltre, and he’s played 46 games. Cody Ross’ .923 OPS merits attention, but he missed a month with injury.

Mike Aviles’ 43 RBI and defensive efficiency that slots him among the AL’s more valuable players make him a darkhorse at short, but it’s hard to see him getting the nod over Derek Jeter, Elvis Andrus, Asdrubal Cabrera or even Alcides Escobar. Likewise, after making a heart-warming run at a bid, there are a number of relievers responsible for higher-leverage innings who boast results similar to Scott Atchison and his 1.54 ERA.

Barring a sentimental selection for the 36-year-old Atchison, it then appears as though the Sox will fail to place a pitcher on the All-Star team for the first time since 2003 — when Pedro Martinez was injured for part of the first half, and therefore bypassed despite deserving results.

The circumstances were similar two years earlier, when Manny Ramirez was the lone player selected from those 2001 Sox. There’s a chance his old running mate, Ortiz, could be put in that same situation today.

And if that’s the case, these 2012 Red Sox should spend the second half intent on seeing that the comparisons stop there.

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Ron Washington will manage the AL team for a second straight year, the product of winning back-to-back pennants. And part of the reason for the success of his Rangers could be explained in part by the team he’ll field against the NL.

If Saltalamacchia, Andrus and Texas pitcher Matt Harrison all make the AL squad — a distinct possibility — three of the five prospects the Rangers received from the Braves for Mark Teixeira will share the same All-Star clubhouse. Meanwhile, Teixeira spent just half a season in Atlanta, and has himself made just two All-Star teams since the 2008 deal.

Obviously Saltalamacchia found himself in Boston, but, still the star-studded haul underscores the impressive work general manager Jon Daniels has done in building the Rangers into a power.

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The jury is still in deliberations on the 2012 Red Sox, but one verdict has been reached: They’re not a team that gets blown out.

Through Friday, Boston had lost 36 games. A quarter of those had come with the Sox beaten in the enemy’s last at-bat, while only five times had they been defeated by more than four runs, and none of those had come in 17 setbacks since May 11.

Entering Saturday, Boston had lost only three games in June that did not require the opponent to register a save: Felix Hernandez’s complete-game, 1-0 win on Thursday; an 8-6 loss to the Orioles where closer Jim Johnson blew a save but got a win when Baltimore scored twice in the 10th; and Daniel Bard’s final start, which was 5-1 from the second inning forward.

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STAT OF THE WEEK: When Aaron Cook’s two-hitter moved to the top of the list Friday, four of the five best games the Sox had pitched this season — according to the Game Score calculation developed by Bill James — had come against the Mariners.

Dave D’Onofrio covers the Red Sox for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News. His e-mail address is ddonof13@gmail.com.