Absolutely bring back the hitting cursor. It should be one of the top two options along with bringing back zone hitting. If you decide to keep swing stick, stick it as a distant third option for the experiment that it is. Just because swing stick is proclaimed as "realistic" that doesn't make it FUN. I don't think it's a coincidence that the game has gone down the toilet since 2k6 (swing stick, among other things like stripping all that was good from previous 2k versions).
Another thing I'll be in the minority over (first being a resounding get rid of swing stick), gameplay gameplay gameplay. Screw modes (yeah I said it). I got into this video baseball thing to PLAY VIDEO BASEBALL. If you get a solid, ADDICTING, smooth, BEAUTIFUL, FUN game of baseball, then by all means spend some time working on a manager text mode and franchise mode that I'll never play. Seriously go play fantasy baseball or something if you want that stuff, I'm trying to give you $60 for $60 worth of BASEBALL.
Don't let me get on your nerves swing stick and franchise lovers. I know you're out there. I'm just trying to get this perspective out there. I know many people personally that don't use message boards - who think the latest 2k baseball offerings are an absolute chore. We just want our SIMPLE and ADDICTING gameplay that we got used to from 2002, 2003, and 2004.