All points are valid.
Regarding stealing - steal even though you are not given the signal. When on your speed archetype that is. Eventually you'll get called into the office and defend yourself - you'll get the permanent green light. Regarding being told to do so when your power guy is playing - it sucks. I saw the same thing. The batter will not swing the bat. So, I say steal anyway even knowing you are going to likely get thrown out. Just try and get a good jump so you get a +stealing bonus - those add up over time. Don't worry about the manager being an idiot - outside your control.
Regarding pitching and lack of run support - yeah - I've had a lot of 2-1 or 1-0 games with my pitcher that just don't happen when playing a different archetype. And I dread when a "dynamic challenge" happens - those are basically like a bat signal saying "you are about to fail"...
Regarding batting - striking out should not be a -discipline unless you did so swinging at a pitch outside the strike zone. If the pitch is inside the strike zone, it should be a -vision if you took it and a -contact if you swung and missed.