I like Sweeney. I'd love to see him getting 300 ABs with a line such as you suggest. But, like 2009, the issue in regard to bench depth is complicated by how FEW innings some of your "regulars" are likely to provide.
Griffey is 40 and injury prone. Bradley is borderline psychotic and is still hunting for his first 600 PA season.
The "dream" for the season is that in late May, Bedard returns, and starts pumping out those hall-of-fame quality 5-inning starts.
My personal view is that any talk of potentially carrying only 11 pitchers is simply an organization white lie intended to encourage BOTH the pitchers and hitters to work their buns off to make the team during ST.
Felix and Lee are seasoned enough to have expectation. The rest of the rotation is the NBC (No Bloody Clue) Mystery Movie, in regards to performance, stamina or both. Oh, they might break camp for a week or two with only 11 pitchers, (light April schedules do that routinely), but the honest truth is, the bullpen is just as much an unknown as the rotation. Many fans have deluded themselves into thinking the bullpen was good last year, (it wasn't).
And, it is typically April that you're left dealing with things like the EOF implosion, or reality catching up to guys like Corcoran.
The sad reality is that the decision to gamble on Griffey for one more year has put the club in the exact situation they were in last season - having one lineup slot for a defenseless player. While I hold some slim hope that Griffey's surgery can buy him another year at the plate - I think every 14 seconds he spends in the OF is going to be an exponentially growing disaster clock waiting to strike retirement. BIG difference having surgery at 40 compared to 30. Huge!
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