Close, but no cigar.
As stated above, the first major problem I have with this game is the gameplay. I am a hardcore baseball fan, so the little things in this game drive me nuts. For example, when pitching, there is a 90% chance that the batter will swing at the first pitch, which is highly unlikely. Also, when I was playing the game with a friend to see what he thought, he threw a change-up high and inside, clearly out of the strike zone, and that turned into home-run that cleared the stadium. The list of issues goes on and on. In "My Player" mode, at the end of month number one my batting average was .386 with 12 home runs and 32 runs batted in. That is unheard of for a rookie. There is one more thing that really bugged me. When pitching, your fielders are never in the right spot. It really shows when there is a ground ball to the second baseman or the shortstop. Instead of running at an angle to intercept the ball, they will run straight back, leaving the ball to roll right by. Its infuriating when you are trying to increase your players stats. My WHIP usually ends between 1.80 and 2.00, which is horrendous.
The whole "My Player" mode is a little far-fetched to begin with. I started my character as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox with an overall rating of 68. So, Terry Francona decides to make me a starter, taking the place of Clay Buchholtz. Yeah, like that would ever happen.
The graphics are abysmal. The developers only concentrated on what was inside the park, and even that didn't look all that special. For example, I hit a home run over the green monster at Fenway Park, only to see 2D, cardboard-looking cars driving on the street. I mean, come on. Couldn't they put in a little bit more effort? The players always look like there is something wrong with them. When they swing it looks like they are convulsing or something. Its quite scary actually...
What were they thinking when picking the music for this game? It doesn't even sound like music you would listen to when playing baseball. Whatever happened to the classics? Wouldn't it be nice to hear "Sweet Caroline" during the 7th inning stretch? I'm probably being unfair here. I doubt that anyone could get the license to play that song, but instead I'm listening to artists that sounds like they just finished puberty.
Overall, the game is like an abusive relationship. You keep wanting it to work, but it never happens. I have tried and tried to get past the small technical issues, but its just too hard. I gave this game a 5.5, just because it is the best in the series. I am getting a little Deja Vu here though, because after each 2k release, I always end up saying, "Maybe next year". Well, maybe next year...