You can't reference the 2010 or 2012 Giants -- both of those teams had deep, elite rotations to carry them through the playoffs. The 2011 Cardinals are a pretty good comp -- they had a number of weak spots and a supporting cast of sluggers (Berkman, Pujols, Craig, Holliday).
A lineup can support two weak hitters, especially if those hitters are as elite defensively as Bradley and Vasquez. But unfortunately, you have to question 2/3 of the slots in the lineup next year:
Lock
-- I think you can count on (1) Napoli, (2) Ortiz, and (3) Cespedes to do their thing next year.
Questions
-- There are obvious questions about (4) Vasquez's bat
-- Who plays center -- (5) Betts v. Bradley.
-- Is (6) Allen Craig healthy?
-- Who plays third base? (7) Will Middlebrooks has just never proven himself to be a major league hitter.
Bounceback
-- The team needs bounceback seasons from (8) Pedroia and (9) Bogaerts.
The team needs improvements from Craig, Pedroia, and Bogaerts, and needs to get some expletive offense from third base.
So maybe I phrased it wrong. A solid lineup can support two certifiably weak hitters. But a lineup additional question marks at critical positions may not be able to do so.
Especially if the rotation takes a step backwards.
I'm as optimistic about the 2015 Sox as everyone. They have money to spend and I really like a lot of the guys on the farm (especially Betts). There's no juggernaut in the division.
And most importantly, the guys that need to bounce back are not David Freese, Trevor Plouffe types. It's Dustin Pedroia and an elite young talent in Bogaerts. But the puzzle is not complete.