If you can not make contact at all, not even foul off pitches of hit weak pop ups & grounders. Then the problem is you timing itself. look ate the feed back given after each of your swings. it will show if you in the RED with being either way extremely late or early. Also what are you swing at. If you are chasing everything outside of the zone, then making contact is less likely to happen with bad swing timing on top of that. The format used is really just a matter of preference with which is bring you the best results or best comfort felt using. I use Directional only because it is the most comfortable feeling for "me" & what brings more results. Not always great or consistent results online, but much more for me then when I'm using Zone because I am just not re-flexed quick enough to move that PCI in the proper spot fast enough, especially on FB's being 98+ MPH.
I suggest doing Batting Practice from main menu (NOT in the DD menu) & set it to Beginner & just practice your swing timing overall & try using each of the formats to see which feels most comfortable for you & works best. Then upgrade batting practice to Rookie, then to Veteran, then to All-Star & finally to Hall of fame. Once you can hit the PC on Hall of Fame consistently, then you should be able to hit Online gamers on All-Star.