Project XII.

The Pac-12 has always been about polar opposites. North versus south, wins versus losses, offense versus defense.  Can the wildcat fool the run defense?  Can the blitz foil the pass offense?  Those are the hard questions football asks of its players and teams, not only in the Pacific 12 conference but all across the country.  Opposites are what drive competition; the David and Goliath complex.  Whether your team is a superior powerhouse or a scrappy underdog, the clash of the conflicting playbooks never disappoints.  Sometimes, opposites even attract.  Like Todd Graham and Arizona State perhaps? Only W’s, I mean time, will tell.

This year though, is all about the intangible.  That’s right, the thing that becomes an asset that perhaps a coach or team didn’t even know they had.  That abstract quality in a player or team that gives them the edge.  You can’t see it in a box score and it can’t be measured on a score sheet.  Maybe it’s the fact that Utah plays highly touted USC in their home stadium, a place where the mighty Trojan’s have never set foot.  Maybe it’s that unfamiliar ground that’s a game changer; maybe it’s the Utes even stronger 2012 squad bolstered by standout defensive lineman Star Lotulelei.  We won’t know until the first whistle blows; that’s the beauty of the intangible.  You can’t predict it in a pre-season media guide.

Intangibles are all about the “what if?”  What if USC comes into Utah’s house already one or even two losses down, having fallen to both dynamic Stanford and surprise underdog Cal?  What if Stanford’s star recruit running back Barry Sanders Jr. is even better than anyone expected?  What if he isn’t?  What if UCLA’s old injuries come back to haunt them?  What if Oregon’s sophomore quarterback can’t stand the heat Stanford’s defensive kitchen will most certainly be serving? Or what if Arizona State’s new coach can’t shake his one and done mentality?

It’s easy to reach for the perhaps immanent USC vs. Oregon, north vs. south Pac-12 title game showdown.  Both feature strong 2012 rosters; with Barkley returning for the Trojans and the southern California defect himself, “The Black Mamba” De’Anthony Thomas running the ball for the Ducks.  No doubt the big issue in the North is the search for a second act quarterback, with Luck and Darron Thomas both departed to the NFL.  Advantage goes to Washington as the Huskies eagerly welcome back Keith Price and his experience.  The theme down South seems to be change, which sports fans know is unavoidable.  Arizona, Arizona State and UCLA all underwent coaching changes, bringing in big name, up-tempo leaders which could very well spell out several upsets for rival schools. 

The bowl ban sanctions may be over for USC, but the real sanctions start now.  The problem they face, besides the big red target on their back, is that they have no real depth, particularly on the defensive line and even at running back.  Other teams, such as Stanford, posses a strong defensive line with several of last years stand outs returning, including crafty senior running back Stepfan Taylor.  Kiffin may want to watch his back on the Farm. 

Meanwhile, Oregon may be facing sanctions of their own in the wake of a national statement that perhaps half the team smokes marijuana.  In a report released 4 months ago in ESPN The Magazine, an article stated a member of last season’s Rose Bowl championship team smoked marijuana in the presence of a reporter.  The article also cited “19 current or former Oregon players and officials” in estimating that about 40 to 60 percent of the current team uses marijuana.  In response to the article, Chip Kelly disputed the estimate, but also welcomed random drug testing just to be sure.  The drug testing would be for both illicit substances and performance-enhancing drugs at an unannounced time of the program’s choosing.  Best of luck, Ducks.

More money, more problems.  Isn’t that always the way?  The bigger and badder the program, the more scrutiny you come under.  And no one looks good under a microscope.  That is why I am dubbing this the year of the intangible for the Pac-12.  Whoever can escape the media circus unscathed wins.  Whoever brings the unaccounted for game-changer to the table takes it all.  Could be a stadium, could be one player or a whole crowd on their feet that brings their opponent to their knees.  Let the games begin August 31^st; the Pac-12 network will be watching.  

Is there really such a thing as a “Slump Buster?”

We credit Mark Grace, former first baseman for the Chicago Cubs and then the Arizona Diamondbacks, with the creation of the term.  After being pressed by Jim Rome to define and clarify the expression in a now-famous 2003 interview on Jim Rome’s show, “Rome is Burning,” Grace said:  “A slump buster is if a team's in a slump, or if you personally are in a slump, you gotta find the fattest, gnarliest, grossest chick and you just gotta lay the wood to her. And when you do that, you're just gonna have instant success. And it could also be called jumping on a grenade for the team.”

Now while this may seem offensive, Grace, who is known for his unique sense of humor as well as consistency at bat and on base, sheds light on an elusive subject for baseball players and athletes alike: How do you bust out of a slump?

There is no one size fits all slump busting remedy.  Baseball, in particular, has a way of averaging out over the course of a season and sometimes slumps are just a natural baseball progression that you can blame on statistical averages.  Slumping is a normal part of baseball if you play it for any significant amount of time.  It happens to hall of famers and it happens to little leaguers.  Yogi Berra said: "Everybody has slumps. Hitters and pitchers struggle for no good reason. The big thing is not to change who you are."

Tell that to Tim Lincecum.  Though the media seems less concerned about his lack luster throwing as of late and more concerned with Matt “Mr. Perfect” Cain or even Vogelsong’s All-Star snub, fans are scratching their heads in confusion and wondering should Bochy really “Let Tim Choke?”

High pitch counts and scary walk rates are making it difficult for Lincecum to navigate his way through games lately.  By the numbers, Lincecum is averaging 5.2 innings per start after 8 games, a career low strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.08, a career high walk rate and an alarming 1.58 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched).  All that combined with a 5.77 earned run average makes it hard not to freak out as a fan.  The numbers are bound to improve, but the question on everyone’s mind going into the second half of the season is when?

Do not let his respectable strikeout rate fool you.  Both he and the Giants continue to struggle while fans search for a cause.  One of the most popular scapegoats: his alleged drug use, but where there is smoke, there is not always fire and his numbers are not the only ones going up in flames.   The Giant’s entire outfield is in a batting slump with batting averages the lowest they have been all year.  It won’t be long before even the stubborn Bruce Bochy pulls out his dance card and shuffles the pitchers around, bumping the two-time Cy Young award winner out of his number one spot.  But who steps up to the coveted top of the rotation: Cain, Bumgarner or Vogelsong? My money’s on Mr. Perfect himself.

With the Giants going 46-40 at the All-Star break, some serious changes/efforts/slumpbusting solutions need to happen. The All-Star game was a success for Cabrera, Posey, Cain and especially Sandoval, but will those hits, runs and strikes translate into wins down the home stretch?  If they are going to make a serious playoff push, Lincecum needs to get into gear, the higher ups need to secure a closer and a big time hitter needs to step up and cash in on their RISP (runners in scoring position).

With the All-Star break almost over, San Francisco Giants players, Lincecum in particular, need to figure out a solution to their pitching and hitting woes.  They could take advice from arguably one of the best starting pitchers in the history of the games, Tom “The Franchise” Seaver: “Slumps are very difficult things to try to decipher or decide which way to go to get out of them…The thing is to discipline yourself mentally, to build on what's positive and dismiss what's negative...”

If all else fails they should consider calling up Mark Grace to hang out.  Or at the very least contemplate his slump busting advice. After all, October is right around the corner and high-octane baseball is crucial for post-season play.