Back when he used to actually go to LV it didn't seem to make a difference, though his stays there were never very long. I'm not sure it's actually incorrect that the technology and pitching machines provide the same challenge as AAA pitching these days. It is just the reality of both recovering from injury, and, more worrying, playing through pain all the time. I also don't know that the line-up would actually be better without him (like, it would have meant Kemp at 1B and Kepler against a LHP) though if they had forced him to do a rehab stint Kennedy would still be here.
