Late Friday at Yankee Stadium...

Quick hits from postgame at Yankee Stadium, after the Twins' 8-4 loss onn Friday night:

-My Saturday column is about Ron Gardenhire's decision to have Matt Guerrier pitch to Alex Rodriguez. It's an easy second-guess, but a bunch of us in the press box were first-guessing this one to death.

New York and Minnesota writers alike were turning to each other asking, ``He's not really going to let Guerrier pitch to Rodriguez, is he?"

I have the numbers broken down in tomorrow's column. I would have let Duensing face Teixeira. If Duensing gets Teixeira out, you can intentionally walk A-Rod, then have Duensing face lefty Robinson Cano. And then you still have Guerrier for the eighth inning and Jon Rauch for the ninth.

Duensing might have given up the lead, too, but the Guerrier-A-Rod matchup seemed doomed from the start.

-I don't write much about writer-player dynamics in the paper, but I try to provide a window into how it all works on this blog sometimes.

Late Friday night, after another horrific loss in Yankee Stadium (that's 11 straight losses in the Bronx for the Twins, and Gardy is 3-24 in regular-season games in the Bronx in his career), Scott Baker and Guerrier handled the loss like pros, meeting with the writers and smiling through the pain.

Now, the media contingent is massive at home, and there are four writers and a TV reporter traveling with the team on this trip. In the newer ballparks, players have more places to hang out (or hide), and it seems that the more popular the team gets, the less access we have.

So, if you ever think that writers are giving a certain player too much benefit of the doubt, you might be on to something. When you spend a lot of time in the clubhouse, you can't help but appreciate the guys who act professionally, like Baker and Guerrier did after a tough loss on Friday night.

-I haven't weighed in on the Griffey story, so here are a couple of quick thoughts:

-I know a couple of people in the game who told me there is no doubt that the story was true, that Griffey fell asleep in the clubhouse during a game and missed a chance to pinch-hit.

-The Mariners are angry with whichever players leaked the story. I get this. I appreciate good information any way I can get it, but nobody really likes a snitch.

It wouldn't even be so bad if he had been caught nodding off on the bench. Baseball can be boring, especially the way the Mariners play it. But to adjourn to the clubhouse and cuddle up during a game?

He should be ashamed, and the Mariners should be angry at him, not the writer.

As a reader/fan, you've got to be smart enough to understand how this is supposed to work. Certain TV and radio personalities might be homers and shills and sellouts, but the writers on the beat are supposed to do the tough work. They're supposed to dig up stories and information that just might make the home team uncomfortable or angry. That's their job.

In summary: LaRue did his job. Griffey didn't do his.