What would you expect them to say? Part in bold....admission that no two mounds are alike and the only likely truthful statement from them.
You could literally see Tanaka coming up short on the landing area as there would appear to not be enough slope or at least not as much as these guys are used to seeing. Why do you think everything was up and flat? Pitches were just rolling up to the plate. 17-13 score and its just lousy pitching?????
This is the MLB spec:
The pitcher's plate must be a 24-inch by 6-inch slab of whitened rubber that is 10 inches above the level of home plate and 60 feet, 6 inches away from the back point of home plate. It is placed 18 inches behind the center of the mound -- which is erected within an 18-foot diameter circle -- and surrounded by a level area that is 5 feet by 34 inches. The slope of the pitcher's mound begins 6 inches in front of the pitcher's plate and must gradually decrease by 1 inch every foot for 6 feet in the direction of home plate.
It would appear that somebody missed on the slope with Tanaka IMO showing the most discomfort with the landing area.... Porcello next. Wright seemed to have the least trouble with the slope. But he does not really extend that much toward home plate...less so with that gimpy knee. I really did not pay that much attention after that. The entire game was a cluster. 17-13.....PLEASE. If I knew a football game was going to break out I would not have bothered.
Notice the specs above are very precise though I have NEVER stepped on two different mounds and found them exactly the same. It takes very little change in slope to f*** with the pitcher's landing foot. He is really only "landing" on a very small area. The tires on your car are relatively wide....the actual contact patch with the pavement.....not so much.
Mounds are built with a plateau and a flat area beyond the slope and generally they are built one inch at a time from the peak and plateau to the flat area. Its easy to screw up with patience and attention to detail and the clay itself the only real tools one has. Where did they get the clay.....Anybody know? They got that s*** surface from someplace in France....why....how the f*** would I know!