Gone are the days when professional sports people — athletes, coaches, front-office types, owners — can play make-pretend when asked about the barking and sniping of an angry, frustrated fan base.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora admitted as much the other day, when he told the Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato that, yes, of course he keeps track of what’s being said on Twitter.

But Cora has yet to become the focal point of the collective wrath of Red Sox fans. He’s a first-year manager of a team that took a 50-26 record into last night’s series opener against the Seattle Mariners. Though some critical darts have been tossed in protest of this or that move, Cora has met with general approval.

And then there’s Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr., who, you may have noticed, has been getting a lot of attention lately on social media, not all of it pleasant and upbeat.

Bradley, who was not in the starting lineup last night, is coming off a road trip in which he went 4-for-35. His batting average is down to .181. His slugging percentage is at .292.

Yes, he’s just about the best defensive center fielder the Red Sox have ever had.

Yes, he has the great arm.

Yes, he’s hitting .181.

And, yes, Sox fans are losing patience. Some of the Twitter stuff is simple and to the point: “What is the cutoff for JBJ bat hurting them more than his glove helps?”

Some of it goes to another level.

“Hey @RedSox gonna be in town Thursday to see a game,” tweeted one baseball fan. “What’s the best way to get a @JackieBradleyJr autograph for my step son?”

To which one Twitter wise guy responded, “Look for the guy walking back to the dugout after every at bat.”

#Ouch.

After batting practice yesterday, I asked Bradley if he’s aware of these type of criticisms.

“You see some things,” he said. “Am I supposed to react to it? Why?

“I feel great about myself,” he said. “I come in every single day, focus on that day, continue to work. All I can do is trust that I’ve put the work in.”

Cora, speaking with the media before the game, noted that “swing-wise, he is where we want him to be. If somebody has an idea to change his luck as far as line drives, hey, they’re more than welcome. I was looking at the numbers. In Baltimore I think he hit the ball harder than anybody else and he was 0-for-12. (On Thursday) he hit one at 97 (mph), the other one at 102, and then he finally got a ground ball that went through. So he’s in a good spot.”

He’s hitting .181.

That’s the problem here: Bradley can hit the ball 197 mph or he can hit the ball for warp speed, but an out is still an out. Cora admitted as much when he said, “If you ask any of those guys down there if they’d rather have an 0-for-4 with four line drives at the second baseman or 4-for-4 with two bloop singles and two infield hits, they’ll tell you 4-for-4. It’s always good to see results.

“But at the same time,” Cora said, “where we’re at with him and where we’re at approach-wise, we’re pleased with where he’s at.”

That’s not the way it’s playing outside Fenway Park. And it’s interesting that Bradley is the guy getting all the bad thumb-presses, given that he came into this season as one of the team’s most popular players. Jackie Bradley Jr. Bobblehead Night is next Wednesday.

In a weird way, the criticism Bradley is receiving borders on refreshing. Allow me to explain. He’s not getting ripped because of stuff he says, or because of his weight, or any off-field issues. He doesn’t stiff fans in search of autographs. Before last night’s game he devoted some 15 minutes to interacting with fans.

No, this is old-school stuff: Sox fans simply don’t like the way he’s playing.

In the for-real old days — and for the purposes of this discussion we’re talking about 10 years ago — professional athletes were generally immune from the slings and arrows of an angry, frustrated fan base.

Yes, they heard booing. But booing tends to be a one-trick pony, as in lots of people blowing air out of their lungs in unison, which makes it kinda cliche.

Yes, they could turn on the radio and hear themselves getting ripped by Butch from the Cape and Mike from Brighton. Around here, that kind of thing has its roots in the early 1970s, when “The Sports Huddle,” starring Eddie Andelman, Marc Witkin and Jimmy McCarthy, began to take off.

These days, Twitter is the go-to to rip local athletes.

“Let the chips fall where they may,” Bradley said. “Obviously you see it, but anybody can write anything. Or say anything.”

Bradley is lucky. All he needs is a couple of those 4-for-4 games Cora was talking about — you know, with two bloop singles and two infield hits — and everyone will be happy.

It’s the 0-for-4 games with four line drives at the second baseman that aren’t going over well.