American Idol and Austin Jackson

I suffered through American Idol last night and somehow remembered what one of the contestants said. She was from Puerto Rico, and referred to two men who were with her as 'cousins'. Ryan Seacrest asked if they were really her cousins, and she responded (paraphrasing): "No. Everyone in Puerto Rico is a cousin. These are friends but we all say 'cousin'."

Arod's now famous 'cousin' is probably not an actual relative of his. I believe that is just a pseudonym for a friend or colleague that helped him acquire PEDs. That will make finding the 'cousin' much harder (which I'm sure countless reporters are searching for today).

- Great reports on Ajax from Pete Abraham:

Had a nice chat with Austin Jackson. After playing in the Arizona Fall League, he took a month off and then moved to Pensacola, Fla., to train at the Athletes’ Performance Institute in Gulf Breeze.

The facility is affiliated with Dr. James Andrews. It’s where Manny Ramirez has been working out.

“I got stronger, faster and cut down on my body fat,” Jackson said. “I was there for about a month and a half. It was a great experience.”

Jackson just turned 22 and seems determined to make this a big season. The Yankees want him to play at AAA and that is smart. It would be senseless to jump him from AA to the majors.

You have to give Jackson credit for playing in Arizona and then spending six weeks in Florida getting himself ready for the season. Jackson is one of my favorite prospects and it would not surprise if the coming season is when he really breaks out.

We can only hope he lives up to expectations and wins the centerfield spot next year. If it all falls into place, he'll run and defend nearly as well as Brett Gardner and hit considerably better than either Gardner or Melky.