So, I've played about 10 games so far on the Vita version, and I'm more frustrated than ever. Pitchers can't located where you direct them, and the bating is just too difficult on a 5" screen. All I see is a white ball and have no real clue as to which way the laces are spinning. Is there any way to make this into an enjoyable game without dedicating my life to achieving the bating skills of an MLB player? Also, has anyone found a way to get the pitch to actually go where directed?
The pitch control depends on your pitcher's confidence meter (blue one), energy (green meter), and the confidence in each pitch he has available (blue meter under the pitch icons). Also his placement rating with each pitch. The reason it works better to be inaccurate sometimes is because when you're tired or nervous you won't throw perfect. You'll release the ball early or late or throw a fastball too slow. That will cause the trajectory to change. If you always pitched where the ball went you would have an arcade game. As you progress through a game your confidence will go up or down depending on how your fielding is and whether you're getting a lot of strikes. This affects a pitcher in real life and is pretty accurately portrayed in the game.
What pitching mode are you using? I use simple buttons as the pulse pitching is too frustrating and I ended up walking 7 guys in a row and the pure analog mode is difficult.
Also the yellow arrows on sliders, curve balls, breaking balls and the like shows approximately where the ball will go. Aim the last arrow around where you'd like the pitch to go and it should be somewhere close. Again not perfect. Where you aim the pitch affects a lot too. For example a right handed pitcher throwing a curve will get less movement on the ball if he is pitching inside on a right handed batter. If you aim for the outside of the strike zone the movement will increase. To do this aim the ball icon toward the inside of the zone and watch the yellow arrows, they will expand, showing you that you will get more ball movement. Take note that where you place the ball is where you aim, and the movement your pitcher puts on the ball (spin) will determine the actual location. This is determined by your pitcher's ratings for that pitch. If you look at a player's ratings you see bars for contact, fielding, base running ability, arm strength etc. For a pitcher there is another menu with each pitch listed and his velocity rating, movement, & accuracy. One pitcher might throw a fastball 97mph but his slider won't have much movement. Another might only hit 91mph but the breaking ball will drop like a rock and be hard to hit. You can adjust these up or down if you wish by editing the player in the rosters.
I hope that helped a bit and if you have any questions about it I'll do my best to help.
edit: Warming up a pitcher is crucial as well. Obviously you should warm up your reliever but be careful, if they warm up too long they can start to wear down before you put them in. Also, you can have a pitcher stretch out and throw the ball around, but they won't be warm enough for optimal play. It keeps them loose and are more likely to have a high confidence when they come in if you warm up right. Also warm up your starter when you can. Pay attention to the pitches that land on the money and those that float off. The floaters are the ones you want to throw a couple of and the ones that land where you want don't need extra throws.