MINNEAPOLIS -- The Metrodome has a long list of quirks.

There's the dirty, baseball-colored ceiling that causes outfielders to lose fly balls. The speakers that turn out-of-play foul balls into outs -- or cheap hits. The lively artificial turf that makes routine groundouts go for triples.

Well, here's another: The pressure required to keep the dome's Teflon roof inflated makes the air inside very dry, which can be a nuisance to players who wear contact lenses.

Anaheim Angels third baseman Troy Glaus uses drops here -- and seldom anywhere else _ to keep his eyes from irritation. "Oh, yeah, it's dryer here,'' Glaus said Wednesday before Game 2 of the ALCS against the Minnesota Twins. "I can feel it. You just put eye drops in whenever you need them.''

Twins rookie right fielder Michael Cuddyer wears contacts, but he's learned not to let the arid atmosphere bother him.

"You just blink it out a couple times and everything's fine,'' said Cuddyer, who's contemplated laser surgery several times.

"But every offseason,'' he said, "I'm about to do it and every time I get scared.''

Mind reader
Twins catcher A.J. Pierzynski has a harder time dealing with the differences in his own pitchers than he does with the opposition.

On a staff with mellow Rick Reed and excitable Eddie Guardado, Pierzynski has to play the role of psychologist with his hurlers.

"Each pitcher is different,'' Pierzynski said. "You have to do different things with certain guys. Some guys you can go out and kick into gear, some guys need to be calmed down. Eleven guys who you have to treat in different ways.''

During Tuesday night's tense ninth inning when Guardado was trying to protect a one-run lead, Pierzynski tried to lighten the mood.

"Jeez. You don't have to give me a heart attack every time you go out there,''' he told his closer. "I just tried to calm him down.''

With Game 2 starter Rick Reed, Pierzynski takes a silent approach and lets pitching coach Rick Anderson deal with him.

"Reed is a different animal,'' Pierzynski said. "He's the hardest guy on the staff to read. He's been through it all before, the LCS and the World Series. It's hard to decipher him.''

Sitting Sele
The Angels knew they had to upgrade their starting pitching to contend this year, so general manager Bill Stoneman traded for Kevin Appier and signed Aaron Sele as a free agent.

The two provided experience and stability, combining to make 58 starts, and Appier pitched five innings in Game 1 of the ALCS on Tuesday night.

As for Sele, he can only sit and watch.

Sele was 1-0 against the Twins this year and has a 15-3 record with a 2.84 ERA against them in his career, but he isn't on the Angels' roster for this series.

"It's not my decision, that's all I can say,'' he said before Game 2.

Sele, 8-9 with a 4.89 ERA this year, was placed on the disabled Aug. 21 with a torn muscle in his right rotator cuff.

He returned to start the final game of the season, giving up two runs and three hits in 4 1/3 innings.

"We decided for now this is the way to go,'' Stoneman said. "Aaron didn't get a chance to compete until the final game. It's tough, he's such a competitor.''

Sele is 0-6 in his career in the postseason.

Hatcher warmly remembered
Angels hitting coach Mickey Hatcher, who played for the Twins from 1981-86, has been greeted warmly by fans at the Metrodome.

"This has been a great place for me,'' he said before Game 2. "When I played here, I had a great relationship with the fans. Great memories -- probably the best memories I've ever had take away '88 and the World Series.''

Hatcher played a key role in helping the Los Angeles Dodgers win a championship 14 years ago. One of his teammates was current Angels manager Mike Scioscia.

As a player, Hatcher had a reputation as a team clown, but Scioscia credits him with a great job as hitting coach.

And that's reflected by the Angels' major league-leading .282 batting average during the season and postseason-record .376 average in the Division Series against the New York Yankees.

"As you peel those layers off of Mickey, of looking at him as a clown or a flake, underneath it is an incredible baseball mind and an incredible teacher,'' Scioscia said. "He's got a great sense of hitting and he knows how to teach hitting.

"I think the players feed off his energy, he's an incredible hitting coach.''

Walk this way
A walk is even better than a hit for Twins catcher A.J. Pierzynski, at least according to his mother.

MaryJane Harrelson gives her son $5 each time he draws a walk, which doesn't happen often. Pierzynski only walked 13 times in 440 at-bats during the regular season.

The reward started last season after former Twins manager Tom Kelly got on his young catcher for a lack of patience at the plate.

" told my mom that and she said, 'For every walk I'll give you $5.' Last year, I think I made $20.''

This year Pierzynski has only fared a little better.

"She pays me in increments every time she sees me,'' he said. "Last time it was $5 and she took me to McDonald's.''