JBJ must find consistency
Streaky habits will keep him on bench
For four days, the Red Sox’ once dormant lineup sprung to life, and Jackie Bradley Jr. missed every bit of it.
The ninth-inning rally on Friday, Bradley was the groundball out in the middle of three straight singles. The 11-run outburst on Saturday, Bradley was on the bench. Seventeen runs on Sunday, another day off. Seven more runs on Tuesday, Bradley popped up in his pinch hit at-bat.
Platoon advantage doesn’t mean much for a .172 hitter, and neither does center field defense when Andrew Benintendi is a capable alternative. Bradley became an All-Star outfielder with a bench player’s role.
“I’ve got to get my act together,” he said.
Consider yesterday’s first at-bat a defiant step toward doing that. Back in the lineup after three games on the bench, Bradley homered on the second pitch he saw. It was only his fourth hit since April 22, and a reminder of how good he could be if he could only get on a roll.
The three games before that were a reminder that Bradley’s everyday status is not necessarily a given.
At his best, Bradley’s been an excellent player. He makes scintillating plays in center field, and last year he had a 29-game hitting streak to go with 26 home runs, continuing to show power even as his batting average plummeted in the second half.
But Bradley’s streaky, and he happens to share a roster with Chris Young, who had a better OPS than Bradley last season and has far better numbers this season. There’s no indication Bradley’s at risk of being truly benched, but the Red Sox don’t have to commit to him every single day. When he scuffles, there are alternatives, and manager John Farrell’s been willing to use them.
“You have to understand that not every decision is made in a bubble,” Farrell said. “You have a team of 25, and our goal is to look to win every night. So, when a player does go through some ups and downs and then starts to go into a little bit of a prolonged stretch, we’re fortunate to turn to a Chris Young, who has had a strong year so far and provides a little bit of work time, in this case for Jackie.
“But it’s important for us to get Jackie back on track. He’s that important to us.”
Inside that bubble are two right-handed hitters who could impact a lefthanded hitter like Bradley.
The first is Young. When he’s on a hot streak, he provides a viable alternative, which makes it easier to sit Bradley rather than simply ride out some of his inevitable slumps.
The second is Hanley Ramirez. Ideally, he’ll keep playing first base against some left-handed starters, but his season debut in the field lasted just three innings last night. If Ramirez is limited to designated hitter, there’s no way for Farrell to play all four of his outfielders, especially against lefties when the team most wants to take advantage of Young’s righthanded bat.
When Young’s in the field, who do you think is going to be the odd man out? MVP candidate Mookie Betts, Rookie of the Year candidate Benintendi, or streaky Bradley? For Bradley’s sake, last night’s 2-for4 needs to be the start of something good.
Hot streaks have propelled Bradley’s offensive performance over the years. When he’s hot, he’s red hot. When he’s not, the slump can linger.
Even in 2014, when Bradley hit just .198, he had a four-week stretch when he hit .339 with an on-base percentage close to .400. That stretch ended in late July, and he hit .071 without a single extra-base hit the rest of the way.
When Bradley began to establish himself in the second half of 2015, it was only after hitting .121 in part-time duty through early August. He hit .430 for the next month, then back down to .143 for the final four weeks.
Last year’s All-Star selection was built on that potent 29-game streak and a .296 average with power through the break. After the break, the power remained, but Bradley hit just .233 in the second half.
This season? Bradley was hitting .333 through his first six games, including three hits with a home run in his first two games back from a knee injury. Since then, just .081 with 11 strikeouts and no extra-base hits in 11 games before being inserted back into the lineup.
Streaky players are not bad players, and Bradley’s not alone in riding hot streaks as the key to strong season-ending numbers. If the Red Sox were inside a Bradley bubble, they’d take the good with the bad, trusting that a hot streak is always right around the corner. But as Farrell said, these decisions don’t happen inside a bubble, and in an outfield this good, Bradley’s going to have to perform to belong.