XM MLB Chat: The question of preparing for opposing pitchers

I assumed hitters spent a lot of time studying pitchers they might face. Two examples indicate that isn't so. One from the NY Times this week, and another from what I heard Arod say to Rob Dibble on XM in 2005 after the Yankees lost the ALDS to the Angels. First, it seems left to Kevin Long to beseech players to prepare for opposing pitchers:

NY Times, 6/21/09: "The Yankees do not have a traditional advance scout, relying heavily on video tailored specifically for Kevin Long, the hitting coach. Long studies the video and consults with Yankees scouts who have seen the pitchers in person, passing on tips to the players.

Long knew of the 11-6 record after the game, and he said too much was made of a phenomenon that does not really exist. Even so, he said,

he urged the hitters to make a greater effort to know what was coming.

“I just mentioned to the guys today, ‘Spend a little extra time on guys to make sure exactly what their pitches are going to do and what they’re going to throw in certain situations,’ ”

Long said. “But we’re not overly concerned with seeing a new pitcher.”"...

from article by Tyler Kepner, "Weary Yankees Find an Unfamiliar Pitcher they can Hit"

*********

Sometime after the Yankee loss to the Angels in the 2005 ALDS, Alex Rodriguez was interviewed on XM 175 by Rob Dibble and Kevin Kennedy.

The winning pitcher for game 5 was Ervin Santana. The Angels starting pitcher was Bartolo Colon, but he was replaced after one inning by Ervin Santana. I recall Arod's words to Dibble were approximately the following:

We expected Bartolo Colon to be the pitcher, we didn't even prepare for Ervin Santana or anyone else.

Dibs and Alex both chuckled. According to Baseball-Reference, Arod had no hits in the game. The Yanks started to make a comeback in the 9th when Jeter got a single off K-rod, but