I think you are somewhat underestimating the ability of a manager to have his players buy in to his strategy. The player you should be having hit 2nd on the team is Freddie, not Dansby, Jace, Nick, Adonis, etc. However, Freddie may not want to hit second, rather third, which complicates the situation. It's not always simply "a swipe of the pen". A good manager is able to get buy in from the players, which Bobby Cox and Joe Maddon were/are able to do very well. I think this skill is especially valuable with bullpen management because all of those guys seem to have this ingrained sense of routine. I find it impressive as hell that Francona has convinced Andrew Miller that he doesn't need to be the closer, despite being arguably the best relief pitcher in baseball.