When the Cleveland Indians faced pitcher Stephen Strasburg on Sunday, the game had to be stopped twice so that the grounds crew could adjust the mound for the the rookie. Take a look at the ruckus...
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Why was Strasburg having problems while the Indians' pitchers did not? Sunday afternoon's home plate umpire explained:
↵↵↵O'Nora said Strasburg's long stride on the mound was the reason he had problems. His right foot often landed on the end of the pitcher's mound. "He has such a long stride. I bet you it [was a lot] compared to the Indians. It's almost down to the end," O'Nora said about the 6-foot-4 Strasburg.
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That sounds like a reasonable explanation. Or, you could always take the strategic-thought route and assume that our grounds crew did their homework to give their home team an advantage. Strasburg did walk five during the game, but still picked up the victory, giving up just one run on eight strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.