The Cutter

[pacopete4]

Watching Jansen toss his cutter past us for two innings got me thinking. Why don't more of these bullpen guys learn to throw it? We have Torres who does but why not a guy like Knebel who throws very hard? Or Feliz who can't keep his fastball in the park anyways.

[DHonks]

What's incredible is Jansen is throwing it 94-96. Also equally incredible is how he lived at the top of the zone with a lot of the pitches (even some called strikes) clearly being above the zone. Nobody seemingly gets calls at the top of the zone...but he did. Shaw was put on the defensive in that last at bat when he started 0-1 on a ball.

[jerichoholicninja]

It was the fad pitch for a few years and then sort of disappeared. It's not a sexy pitch so I'm sure that has something to do with it. Also, there are very few pitchers that have a great one that gets swing and misses. For most it acts almost like a changeup in that it generates weak contact.

[NYChez]

It's tough on the elbow. A smart pitcher will use it a few times a game in key moments. Throwing it more than that will usually lead to problems, unless you're Mariano Rivera.

[jerichoholicninja]

It's tough on the elbow. A smart pitcher will use it a few times a game in key moments. Throwing it more than that will usually lead to problems, unless you're Mariano Rivera.

 

It's not though. It's thrown exactly like a fastball just the fingers are off center.

[MrTPlush]

A cutter isn't bad on the elbow. I am pretty sure the splitter is the pitch considered bad on an elbow...I think.

[pacopete4]

I just don't get why a guy like Feliz, who is a hard thrower, wouldn't try to develop one like Jansen has.

[FVBrewerFan]

Honestly, it's the change-up that I think most pitchers should learn and use.

[Thurston Fluff]

If every pitch was easy to learn, had the movement it should and could be located where he wanted every pitcher would throw every type of pitch. I'd guess most pitchers have tinkered with a lot of different pitches and stuck with the ones that work for them.

[NYChez]

It's tough on the elbow. A smart pitcher will use it a few times a game in key moments. Throwing it more than that will usually lead to problems, unless you're Mariano Rivera.

 

It's not though. It's thrown exactly like a fastball just the fingers are off center.

Go outside tomorrow and throw 50 cutters. Then get back to me.

[istanbultaye]

It's tough on the elbow. A smart pitcher will use it a few times a game in key moments. Throwing it more than that will usually lead to problems, unless you're Mariano Rivera.

 

It's not though. It's thrown exactly like a fastball just the fingers are off center.

Go outside tomorrow and throw 50 cutters. Then get back to me.

 

Throwing 50 of any pitch is hard on your elbow, especially if you're not a trained pitcher.

[Boomer5]

A cutter isn't bad on the elbow. I am pretty sure the splitter is the pitch considered bad on an elbow...I think.

 

Do this exercise: take a baseball and jam it as far as possible between your two fingers. Then look at your foreman muscles as this is happening. Then realize you are trying to throw it 90+ with those muscles already at max stress.

 

If I was in player development I'd start a camp that does nothing but teach kids the knuckleball or submariner. The arm isn't build for today's pitching style.

[sveumrules]

Estrada added a cutter when he went to Toronto & more or less credits the pitch with helping take his career to the next level. Then you've got Baltimore who are so anti cutter that I believe they made Dylan Bundy ditch his coming up through the minors even though it was one of his better offerings.

[jerichoholicninja]

It's tough on the elbow. A smart pitcher will use it a few times a game in key moments. Throwing it more than that will usually lead to problems, unless you're Mariano Rivera.

 

It's not though. It's thrown exactly like a fastball just the fingers are off center.

Go outside tomorrow and throw 50 cutters. Then get back to me.

 

That's pretty much the only pitch I throw and it does nothing to my elbow. Still fine after throwing it over 10 years.

[NYChez]

If you place a finger on the tendon under your throwing arm's elbow and simulate the hand motion for a 2-seamer (right hand slide off the left side of the baseball), you shouldn't feel any stress on that tendon. Simulating a cutter (right hand slide off the right side of the baseball), you will likely feel significant movement in that under-elbow tendon.

 

The first time I experimented with a cutter, I struck out the side in 9 pitches. I threw it effectively for a few more outings and then it started taking a ridiculous amount of time between starts for my under elbow tendon to bounce back.

 

With a curve ball, you cushion your elbow to protect it (by pointing your pinky in the air when you bring your arm back). With a cutter, you bring your arm back with a fastball grip. It adds to the deception, but you lose the cushioning of your elbow.

 

I kept throwing the cutter even after experiencing the discomfort it was causing because it was so effective. However, I would limit myself to a few cutters per game in key situations.

 

These are my first-hand experiences, and it seems to jive with what I've witnessed from major leaguers. The exception, of course is Mariano Rivera. Perhaps he had a trick to cushion his elbow or maybe he was born with a bionic tendon.