I’m doing an end-of-season rollout bonanza, with some new features and types of posts that will become a regular part of Arm Side Run going forward. This one is called “Teach Him a Cutter!” but I could as easily have chosen “Throw Strikes!” or “Use the Whole Field!”

The series is about flaws, the things that stand between so many players throughout the league and a more viable, enviable MLB career. I want to especially hone in on guys who can’t quite stick as regular players, and why, but this should be a broadly useful platform.

The title alludes to the ease with which fans and analysts seem to think every player could simply improve, if they would just take the time to learn this or that, to turn their greatest weakness into a strength. It’s just not so, and my goal here will be to point out what’s wrong with players, without presuming that some mental block or lack of effort is feeding it. Very few are the players without a significant hole in their game. “Teach Him a Cutter!” will celebrate those rough edges, and embrace the excruciating difficulty of the game.