A few things I noticed while surfing around the inter-webs:

• Major League Baseball is responding to the rash of bad calls made by umpires last postseason by firing umpire … supervisors. No, not umpires. Umpire supervisors. Interesting.

It was funny earlier today when the announcement about the umpires in the Yanks-Pirates game was made. Apparently Marty Foster – you might remember him – was supposed to be on the game but was a late scratch due to illness. “Yeah,” one writer quipped, “the Yankees put poison in his food.”

• I mentioned earlier that the football bowl game at Yankee Stadium will be called the “Pinstripe Bowl,” and also voiced my support for changing it to the “Big Apple Bowl” (or even the “Gotham Bowl,” which is what it used to be half a century ago). Anyway, at the news conference Hal Steinbrenner reiterated that doesn’t believe in contract extensions. “People just have to understand that everybody does business in a different way and I just don’t believe in contract extensions,” Steinbrenner told reporters in the Bronx. “And that’s throughout the organization, no matter who it is. And hopefully nobody takes that personally because it’s just business.”

Although he’s refused to negotiate, Hal did say that he’s reached out to Joe Girardi, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera to let them know that he hopes they’ll stay in the organization.

• Bad news for the Twins (and many people who participate in keeper fantasy leagues): Joe Nathan could be done for the year and the Twins don’t have a whole lot of internal options. Jon Rauch? Ugh. Could this be the year the Royals rise in the Central? Probably not. But it sure does make life a little easier for Johnny Damon and the Tigers.

From The LoHud Yankees Blog. Please read the complete article and let us know what you think below.