Scutaro, Zito, Casilla Look To Avenge '06 Tigers Sweep In 2012 World Series

BY MELISSA ZIELINSKI

Tonight as the Detroit Tigers come to San Francisco to take on the Giants in Game 1 of the World Series, a few San Francisco players will have an added incentive to defeat Detroit or the team who many have picked as the favorite in the 2012 World Series.

The Tigers are a familiar foe for Giants second baseman Marco Scutaro, starting pitcher Barry Zito and relief pitcher Santiago Casilla. In 2006 the trio faced the Tigers as members of the Oakland Athletics during the American League Championship Series and were sent home after a disappointing showing in a four-game sweep.

Marco Scutaro has seen his time spread out in Major League Baseball, playing for six teams between 2002-2012, but spending the most time with the Athletics in that span. Serving the 'utility man' role during the 2006 season with Oakland, Scutaro had a .266 average and hit .333 during the American League Division Series.

Things were drastically different during the second round of the 2006 playoffs as Scutaro's average plummented to .067 and the A's were outscored 22 runs to nine runs and defeated in four games.

Scutaro has been a welcomed addition to the Giants midway through this season after being traded from the Colorado Rockies on July 27 in exchange for second baseman Charlie Culberson. In 12 postseason games for the Giants in 2012, Scutaro has hit .500 with 14 hits and four RBIs in 28 at bats. Scutaro was also named the National League Championship Series 'Most Valuable Player.' The shifty infielder has only been to the playoffs twice in his career (19 games) and has never been to a World Series.

Next in line, Barry Zito, former Oakland A's ace, who's hoping to find his calling with the Giants during this year's postseason run. Early on in Oakland, Zito was part of the A's perfect pitching formula that included he, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder.

A 2006 All-Star, Zito had the most starts in the American League (34) and was 8th in the AL in wins (16). After pitching an immaculate 8.0 innings in a win against the Minnesota Twins in the 2006 ALDS, Zito only lasted 3.2 innings during the ALCS that year verse Detroit. It was his last season with the A's as he was shipped to San Francisco in 2007.

Zito, who has been somewhat of a disappointment since joining San Francisco didn't earn a spot in the 2010 rotation with the World Series-bound Giants, but is hoping to show fans he was worth it through his 2012 postseason performance.

Only lasting  2.2 innings during the '12 NL Division Series against the Cincinnati Reds, Zito became the rally horse during Game 6 of the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals in which the Giants strung together three consecutive wins, after falling behind in the series three games to one. Zito's bounce-back performance not only got him a 5-0 win in 7.2 innings work, but some credibility

Lastly Casilla, who took on a very limited role in 2006 with Oakland, has been used in abundance in 2012 with closer Brian Wilson sidelined the entire season. Casilla had a 2.84 ERA in 63.1 innings with the Giants and is also a career high.

In the 2012 NLCS it's so-far, so-good  for Casilla, who's pitched 2.1 innings with a 0.00 ERA, only allowing two hits and striking out three.

For Detroit Scutaro, Zito and Casilla may look familiar for a few veteran players too.

Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander and utility man Omar Infante were both a part of the 2006 sweep of the Athletics. Delmon Young may be well versed as well - his brother Dmitri Young was the designated-hitter for Detroit in the 2006 postseason.

The San Francisco Giants being called the underdogs in this year's World Series may be a stretch since neither of the teams faced each other in 2012 and both are cruising (the Tigers swept the New York Yankees in four games, while the Giants won three-straight to defeat the 2011 World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals). Stretch or not, a few players now have added ambition to beat  a not so unfamiliar foe.

*Thanks To Josh Bowen For Pitching The Story

Athletics Don't Hesitate In Offseason, Make Moves With Added Addition Of Chris Young

Last weekend the Oakland Athletics traded shortstop/designated hitter Cliff Pennington and minor league prospect Yordy Cabrera to Arizona for outfielder ChrisYoung, as the Diamondbacks then traded Cabrera to the Miami Marlins for Heath Bell.

In the deal it seems that the Athletics came out with the best bet in the three-way trade.

Oakland now has a solid staff in the outfield with Josh Reddick, Yoenis Cespedes, Coco Crisp and the newly acquried Young (maintaining the theory that the A's can hold on to all four).

Looking at Young's stats from last season:

              Games Played (GP): 101
              Runs (R): 36
              Hits (H): 75
              Home Runs (HR): 14
              Runs Batted In (RBI): 41
              Batting Average (BA): .231

It seems that Young will add consistency to Oakland's lineup without giving up too much for him after losing Pennington and Cabrera.

Here's an ESPN article that explains a little more about the weekend trade:

ESPN'S KEITH LAW BLOG: CHRIS YOUNG A SHREWD PICKUP FOR A'S

WATCH: AHL Fans Should Expect More Bang For Their Buck

BY MISSY ZIELINSKI

We’re only two weeks into the American Hockey League calendar, but two weeks is enough to know that the 2012-13 season will be a little different than previous seasons. This year fans should expect to see games played with a touch more vigor and speed and a lot of explosive offensive production.

It will also add some glamour.

With the National Hockey League (NHL) locked out, the AHL has seen its share of players trickle down from the higher ranks, some of the most noteworthy players include:

-Carolina Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner (a 2010-11 Calder Trophy winner for the NHL’s Rookie of the Year and a member of the NHL ALL-Rookie Team) playing for the Charlotte Checkers. Skinner currently has not put a sweater on for the Checkers.

-Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (The first overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft) is in Oklahoma City playing with the Barons. Nugent-Hopkins has two assists in three games with Oklahoma City.

-Also from the Oilers and playing for the Barons forward Jordan Eberle (A first-round pick in 2008, Eberle dished out more than 30 goals for the Oilers last season) has tallied one goal in three games.

And the list doesn’t stop there – the Washington Capitals relied on netminder Braden Holtby during the 2011-12 Stanley Cup playoffs. A talented goalie who’d only seen minimal time in the District manned the crease in the postseason, ousting the defending 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals and bringing the Capitals to Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Rangers.

While teammates Slava Voynov and Jordan Nolan, who both helped the Los Angeles Kings win their first franchise Stanley Cup, are chipping in their time for the Manchester Monarchs in the minors.

It's a marketing miracle for the AHL front office, but it’s a story that players and fans alike must understand this season.

After attending two AHL games thus far (Syracuse Crunch vs Rochester Americans on 10/12/12 and Rochester Americans vs Hershey Bears on 10/20/12) 26 goals were scored between the two games: the Amerks earned a 6-5 shootout victory and a 8-7 victory. Witnessing and hearing fans frustrations urged me to write this blog.

These high-tallying games are an opportunity for an AHL team's defense to adjust and the AHL fan must be patient. Or kick back and enjoy.

Expect to see some built up aggression too.

With everyday AHLers being demoted and NHL calldowns seeing more playing time, it will be interesting to see how team chemistry factors in.

After reading a chapter of ex-Washington Capitals head coach (and current Anaheim Ducks head coach) Bruce Boudreau’s book during his coaching tenure in the AHL, he coached teams where call downs just didn't have their heart in it as players who'd been their all season (upon elimination from Stanley Cup contention, farm teams can call down available players from their respective NHL teams to participate in the Calder Cup playoffs).

Will it be the same this season?

We’ve already seen the scoring factor, but the continuation of this is to be determined. The AHL season will be left to decipher this one along with the NHL’s progress in the weeks ahead.