"Those are definitely two of the best pitching coaches in the game,'' Jackson said. "Everybody speaks real highly of both of them. They both just got me to pitching (to) contact, stay consistent around the plate and, at the end of the day, trust what you have.''
Bummer numbers: Ratings for postseason games have been somewhere between disappointing and abysmal, but Major League Baseball still sees increases in its next television contracts.
"The sport has never been more popular,'' Commissioner Bud Selig said on SiriusXM's Mad Dog Radio. "… By the way, the clubs' local television ratings have been spectacular. So I'm not going to worry about (poor ratings). Of course I'd like better ratings and I still think if we get a six or seven-game World Series the ratings will be terrific. But let me say this to you: Our contracts will be up in a little while. Never have so many been interested in acquiring our rights. Never."
Selig says he's talking major networks, not ones desperate for programming.
"So if they don't seem all that concerned, I'm not,'' he said. "And I'm telling you, they are so intense on getting our postseason rights that the popularity of this sport now, I think, is greater than people realize."
The last word: "KHADAFY KILLED BY YANKEE FAN: Gunman had more hits than A-Rod.'' — New York Post headline over a photo showing the body of the Libyan leader with an armed man wearing a Yankees cap.
Twitter @ChiTribRogers
