The annual Jackie Bradley Jr thread (2019 Edition)

[Swiharts Ghost]

Is JBJ just a terrific Defensive player ? That's ok if that's all he is but let him play as a Defensive replacement at this point .I hope it's time to move Benni over to CF Mookie stays and JD To left .No reason at all now to think of JBJ other than an all Glove player .

[iortiz]

If you had to guess the last time JBJ hit over .800 for three straight months, what would you say?

 

I recall his performance in the POs. It was marvelous. I thought that his POs performance was going to be a revulsive/motivation in his career offensively moving forward. Hopefully April is a thing of the past and he starts hitting consistently moving forward.

Edited May 9, 2019 by iortiz

[moonslav59]

Is JBJ just a terrific Defensive player ? That's ok if that's all he is but let him play as a Defensive replacement at this point .I hope it's time to move Benni over to CF Mookie stays and JD To left .No reason at all now to think of JBJ other than an all Glove player .

 

The last 3 months of last year plus the playoffs isn't a "reason?"

 

The fact that he's had ice cold, prolonged slumps before bouncing back many times in his career is not a "reason?"

 

We don't want JD playing everyday in the OF alone is a "reason."

 

Look, I'm fed up with this horrid streak by JBJ. I'd bench him for a while, but I would not give up on his bat for good.

[cp176]

We all know what this man is capable of in the field. He proved it once again last night. We likely all want him to be out there forever but the fact remains - he has to hit just a little - as in a little more than he is right now. What he is doing now is not enough. Maybe that catch, a real game saver, will get something good going for him even at the plate. i bet we all hope so.

[Maxbialystock]

Pretty nice grab last night—a game saver.

[mvp 78]

Mookie makes that catch too.

[Bellhorn04]

Mookie makes that catch too.

 

You're right, it sure is nice to have two guys who can make catches like that!

[SoxnCycles]

i was only 8 at the time so that one wasnt too painful for me.

2003 i dont think i was able to sleep for 2 days....

 

Trust us, 1978 was just as bad.

[Elktonnick]

Watching JBJ bat is painful. He is repeating all his bad habits from previous slumps. His swing has become way too long again. He seems to be trying to pull everything down the right field line. Regardless his catch last night was one for the ages and saved the ballgame and the Red Sox and Cora from an embarrassing series loss to the hapless Orioles.

 

Quite frankly there is a lot more wrong in Boston than JBJ's slump although his slump is just one more symptom of the bigger issues. For whatever reason there can be no longer any denial that there is something amiss in that clubhouse. I suspect it begins with Cora and his mismanagement of this team beginning in Spring Training.

[Bellhorn04]

Watching JBJ bat is painful. He is repeating all his bad habits from previous slumps. His swing has become way too long again. He seems to be trying to pull everything down the right field line. Regardless his catch last night was one for the ages and saved the ballgame and the Red Sox and Cora from an embarrassing series loss to the hapless Orioles.

 

Quite frankly there is a lot more wrong in Boston than JBJ's slump although his slump is just one more symptom of the bigger issues. For whatever reason there can be no longer any denial that there is something amiss in that clubhouse. I suspect it begins with Cora and his mismanagement of this team beginning in Spring Training.

 

Jesus, cheer up will you. We're 13-6 in our last 19.

[OH FOY]

Leaving a lot of LOB's offset even the most unbelievable Defense. Last night 3 LOB's. Night before 2 LOB's. Meaning getting the Clutch hit at right time, might not have to make game saving catches, to make the difference. Edited May 9, 2019 by OH FOY!

[Thunder]

As long as JBJ is making plays like that in CF, I want him on this time. I don't care if he hits .000 the rest of his life

[moonslav59]

Watching JBJ bat is painful. He is repeating all his bad habits from previous slumps. His swing has become way too long again. He seems to be trying to pull everything down the right field line. Regardless his catch last night was one for the ages and saved the ballgame and the Red Sox and Cora from an embarrassing series loss to the hapless Orioles.

 

Quite frankly there is a lot more wrong in Boston than JBJ's slump although his slump is just one more symptom of the bigger issues. For whatever reason there can be no longer any denial that there is something amiss in that clubhouse. I suspect it begins with Cora and his mismanagement of this team beginning in Spring Training.

 

lmao!

[moonslav59]

As long as JBJ is making plays like that in CF, I want him on this time. I don't care if he hits .000 the rest of his life

 

I'm JBJ's biggest fan, but his great defense is not unique in MLB, and it does not support an OPS under .550 let alone .450.

 

He will have to improve offensively to keep playing.

[Thunder]

I'm JBJ's biggest fan, but his great defense is not unique in MLB, and it does not support an OPS under .550 let alone .450.

 

He will have to improve offensively to keep playing.

 

We've been saying that for 4 years and he's still the everyday CF

[Slasher9]

Mookie makes that catch too.

 

mookie isnt playing CF if JBj is benched

[oldtimer]

I'm JBJ's biggest fan, but his great defense is not unique in MLB, and it does not support an OPS under .550 let alone .450.

 

He will have to improve offensively to keep playing.

 

I doubt if the club seriously thinks of replacing him until next season. In the mean time, less frequent starts may be the right approach. Hard to understand his looooong slumps. He is a good athlete and has at least in the past hit the ball hard and well for month long or more periods. It's probably his lack of confidence. I hope he can start to pull out of the slump but who knows if that will happen. I advocated making a change last year, even in the face of his end of season heroics. Lets hope we don't carry him forward into 2020. Too much money for too little production.

[Noles_1335]

usually agree with your takes.... however, would you still be saying this at seasons end if he were batting .109? With his current pace and getting around the same PA's as last season this is the what we would be looking at. Don't get me wrong. I love defense, always have, always will!

[Thunder]

I doubt if the club seriously thinks of replacing him until next season. In the mean time, less frequent starts may be the right approach. Hard to understand his looooong slumps. He is a good athlete and has at least in the past hit the ball hard and well for month long or more periods. It's probably his lack of confidence. I hope he can start to pull out of the slump but who knows if that will happen. I advocated making a change last year, even in the face of his end of season heroics. Lets hope we don't carry him forward into 2020. Too much money for too little production.

 

Confidence is definitely a huge part of it. I struggled with it for most of my days playing youth sports, but all of a sudden, found some in my golf game last summer, and I've been playing good golf ever since. I wish I could go back in time to the days I was playing baseball, basketball, and football and see what happens. I just want JBJ to be half of what he was in the ALCS

[kenmeister]

Comparing this Jackie Bradley Jr. mega-slump to his others

 

Quote from the article: "To this point in the year Bradley has played in 32 games this year and has racked up 106 plate appearances and in that time he is hitting .142/.240/.170 for a wRC+ of 14. Fourteen! To put it another way, he has been a whopping 86 percent worse than the league-average hitter ... For comparison, I’m going to look at the previous two seasons in which he saw at least two months of terrible hitting. For 2018, it was the first two months of the season in which he hit .199/.292/.308 for a wRC+ of 63. In 2017, it was the entire second half when he hit .204/.277/.302 for a wRC+ of 50. Both of those stretches were really bad, but even just looking at the wRC+ suggests that he was still significantly better than he’s been through six weeks in 2019."

[moonslav59]

We've been saying that for 4 years and he's still the everyday CF

 

He has not hit .550 for four years- or even .650.

[moonslav59]

I doubt if the club seriously thinks of replacing him until next season.

 

I agree, but I was making my point on the assumption that he remains around .450 into June or July.

 

If it's July, a change will be made....even if just for a few weeks.

[Thunder]

He has not hit .550 for four years- or even .650.

 

Right, but his offensive performance was still at a level that was enough to be questioned, at least by most people on this board

[kenmeister]

I agree, but I was making my point on the assumption that he remains around .450 into June or July.

 

If it's July, a change will be made....even if just for a few weeks.

 

If Steve Pearce was doing any better the argument for benching JBJ would be stronger.

[Thunder]

If Steve Pearce was doing any better the argument for benching JBJ would be stronger.

 

I would rather have JD in the outfield than Pearce. In that scenario, whoever Cora wanted to give a day off to that day could DH

[Maxbialystock]

JBJ keeps playing because, frankly, he's the best option despite the weak hitting and because good options aren't available. Plus for the most part the Sox now 8 pretty decent hitters for the other slots--Beni, Betts, JDM, Bogie, Chavis, Devers, Moreland, and Vazquez. Also, I think the tandem of JBJ in CF and Mookie in RF is pretty reassuring for any pitcher.

 

At this point even moonslav might agree JBJ is on borrowed time. He gets to play because no one on the bench is hitting that much better plus the rest of the lineup ain't half bad--for now.

 

I won't argue last night's game-saving grab was something only JBJ can do, but it was pretty spectacular because he timed it so well. Did anybody else notice the Orioles hitter acknowledge that catch?

[Maxbialystock]

Others will recall I have said repeatedly, "what's JBJ done for us lately?" Well, last night's grab was the answer. And,frankly, I think a catch like that is way more dramatic than an extra inning dinger.

[Bellhorn04]

Others will recall I have said repeatedly, "what's JBJ done for us lately?" Well, last night's grab was the answer. And,frankly, I think a catch like that is way more dramatic than an extra inning dinger.

 

The catch is more dramatic, agreed. But the dinger made the catch pay off in a win.

[mvp 78]

Well, he is the greatest CFer of all time so he better make that catch. It's not a reason to swoon over him though. It's just a reason to say "well, that's why he's still starting and not riding the pine."

[Thunder]

Did anybody else notice the Orioles hitter acknowledge that catch?

 

I did. Thought it was pretty classy by Mancini, who I always thought was the next Machado