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2B Daily News – Tuesday, August 9, 2011 Hypnotist helps Bochy SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Ask Bruce Bochy if he has a dip and San Francisco’s skipper offers up a standard response: ‘‘I don’t do that anymore.’’ Bullpen catcher Bill Hayes answers the same way. Equipment manager Mike Murphy, too. They’ve reached this point because of hypnother- apist AlVera Paxson, who is developing quite the reputa- tion for helping the reigning World Series champion Giants kick some nasty, decades-old habits. Bochy hasn’t touched chewing tobacco since April 14, the night before seeing Paxson during his team’s first road trip to Ari- zona. Hayes has gone with- out since Jan. 26. It’s two years down for Murphy. No carrying around those little tobacco cans for these three any longer. Bochy had his doubts when Hayes told him in spring training this year that he had stopped dipping at last following one thorough session with Paxson, a medical hypnotherapist. Hayes succeeded after Paxson already had aided Murphy in stopping. She also worked with Murphy’s wife, Carole, to help her quit smoking. ‘‘I’m a believer,’’ said Murphy, who joined the Giants as a bat boy when the franchise moved West in 1958. ‘‘It’s been the best $300 I ever spent,’’ Hayes said. ‘‘It’s weird to see how it works.’’ Bochy agrees. He already would have spent well more than $300 on dip by this point in the season, he said. Still, Bochy — a skeptic on these sorts of things — had to see for himself if he could finally kick his nearly 40-year pattern of dipping before and after games and several times during the course of nine innings. He did it in the first, fifth and eighth innings. That had been his routine for years, a go-to stress reliever to deal with the pressures of a 162- game season. When he left Paxson’s office, minus his own $300 investment, Bochy headed straight to Chase Field for a game against the Diamond- backs. He arrived in the club- house and didn’t want a dip. The game started and there were no cravings. He has handled the occasional urges ever since. ‘‘It was really strange,’’ Bochy said. ‘‘There are so many triggers that you have that make you want to put a dip in. The following day, I did have an urge, not a real strong one. I said, ’OK, I’ve had my day off, now it’s time to put one in.’’’ But he didn’t do it. ‘‘The next game I did have an urge. The next two to three days I still had an urge, but it just wasn’t as strong as other times I’ve tried to quit,’’ he said. ‘‘When I got past the fourth or fifth day, I was over it. I didn’t crave it. I didn’t want it. I was fine.’’ Bochy spent 3 1/2 hours in a relaxed, near-sleep state under Paxson’s guidance. She talks constantly as she walks around the room. While Hayes had his eyes closed, per Paxson’s instructions, he recalled that the strongest direction about quitting came as she spoke instructions and Hayes heard sounds resem- bling a stack of magazines emphatically being thrown to the ground, one by one. Both Bochy and Hayes were asked to sit all the way back in a recliner. They gave Paxson signals they could hear her by moving a foot or finger. Each brought along a can of chew and Paxson proceeded to edu- cate them about all the ingredients they were putting in their bodies — make that lower lips. ‘‘It’s pretty disgusting in a year’s time how much nicotine you put in your body,’’ Bochy said. first order of business when a patient arrives. She explains the conscious and subconscious minds. ‘‘People were not born chewing tobacco,’’ Paxson said in a telephone inter- view from Arizona. ‘‘Your mind knows how to not do something more than you know how to do some- thing.’’ Not that it’s quite that simple. Last year, Bochy tried Nicorette gum and an array of different non-tobacco, herbal dips. He made it about a month, then hit hard times and fell back into his old dipping ways. The 56-year-old Bochy tried his first dip at 18. He was playing in a summer league in Virginia, and his roommate from North Car- olina chewed every day. Even he didn’t know if he could give it up. ‘‘There’s an unknown factor when you see a hyp- notist,’’ Bochy said. ‘‘You haven’t been there, so I did- n’t know what to expect. It shocked me.’’ Bochy admits the stress of his team’s recent strug- gles — the reigning World Series champions had lost eight of 10 heading into Monday night’s home game with Pittsburgh — has had him considering ‘‘changing up the look and putting one in.’’ But Paxson doesn’t think Bochy will break down and actually do it. The 70-year-old Paxson has been doing this for 30 49ers embracing offensive changes MCT file photo San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy has quit his dipping habit. Education is Paxson’s years. ‘‘It’s an awesome thing,’’ she said. ‘‘Once you know how to work with your mind and body, it’s easy. Once you know how to do that, you can do almost anything.’’ Not that the rest of the Giants are necessarily con- vinced. They razz Hayes because he has been seen smoking the occasional cig- arette or cigar, or using the imitation snuff since seeing Paxson. ‘‘Follow my finger. Do not smoke,’’ joked bench coach Ron Wotus, waving his pointer finger in a tick- tock motion. ‘‘You’re cured. Next! ... A hypnotist, come on. Good for them. The mind is a powerful thing.’’ Reliever Jeremy Affeldt isn’t yet a believer, either. ‘‘That’s what they all say (that it works). I don’t buy it,’’ Affeldt said. ‘‘Boch is holding up pretty good, though I don’t see him behind closed doors if he’s putting something in his lip. I don’t plan on seeing (a hypnotist). I’d like to keep control of my own thoughts.’’ Yet Kim Bochy is begin- ning to let herself believe that her husband might be done dipping for good. He has gone longer stretches before in an effort to quit, but not midseason like this. ‘‘I told Bruce: ’This is a true test. If you can actually do this during the baseball season and stop, that’s phe- nomenal,’’’ Kim Bochy said. ‘‘He has quit so many times before but always at the end of the season or going into spring training. And, the whole game thing (arrives) and he’d go right back into it. I was amazed he was going to try it in the middle of the season. It’s worked. It’s a good thing.’’ MLB West Division Texas & Concert Series Wednesday Evenings from 5-8 pm • August 10th Kids Variety Night Talented local area youth (backup provided by LTD Band) Music takes place from 6-8pm On Washington & Pine Streets • FOOD • CRAFTS • NEW VENDORS WEEKLY • FRESH LOCAL PRODUCE Sponsored By: RED BLUFF D NEWSAILY TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Sponsored by Red Bluff/Tehama County Chamber of Commerce Red Bluff City River Park every Sat. 7am-11am American League WL Pct GB Angels 63 52 .548 1.5 A’s 65 51 .560 — 51 63 .447 13 Seattle 49 65 .430 15 East Division WL Pct GB Boston 71 43 .623 — New York 69 44 .611 1.5 Tampa Bay 60 54 .526 11 Toronto 58 56 .509 13 Baltimore 44 68 .393 26 Central Division WL Pct GB Detroit 61 53 .535 — Cleveland 56 56 .500 4 Chicago 56 58 .491 5 Minnesota 51 64 .443 10.5 Kansas City49 66 .426 12.5 —————————————————— Monday’s results Boston 8, Minnesota 6 Chicago 7, Baltimore 6 Tampa Bay 2, Kansas City 1 Texas 9, Seattle 2 Today’s games Oakland (Harden 2-2) at Toronto (Cecil 4-4), 4:07 p.m. Chicago (Floyd 9-10) at Baltimore (Jo-.Reyes 5-8), 4:05 p.m. Detroit (Fister 4-12) at Cleveland (Masterson 9-7), 4:05 p.m. Los Angeles (Haren 12-6) at New York (P.Hughes 2-4), 4:05 p.m. Kansas City (Francis 4-11) at Tampa Bay (Shields 10-9), 4:10 p.m. Seattle (Pineda 9-7) at Texas (Ogando 11-5), 5:05 p.m. Boston (Bedard 4-7) at Minnesota (Liriano 7-9), 5:10 p.m. Wednesday’s games Oakland at Toronto, 4:07 p.m. Chicago at Baltimore, 4:05 p.m. Detroit at Cleveland, 4:05 p.m. Los Angeles at New York, 4:05 p.m. Kansas City at Tampa Bay, 4:10 p.m. Seattle at Texas, 5:05 p.m. Boston at Minnesota, 5:10 p.m. SANTA CLARA (AP) — A week of strenuous three-hour practices had some San Francisco 49ers feeling that not much has changed in training camp since last year. ‘‘We’re having some long, tough days out there,’’ running back Anthony Dixon said Mon- day, when the team returned to the field after a players’ day off. ‘‘I remember at one point, I was like, ’Is coach Single- tary out here?’ That’s what it felt like. But, you know, it’s coach Harbaugh now, and coach Harbaugh is a tough dude.’’ But that’s where the similarities end between Jim Harbaugh and his pre- decessor as 49ers coach, Mike Singletary, who was known for conducting physical summer practices. Harbaugh has brought some big changes to a team that has gone eight years without a winning season, and several of them are coming on the offensive side of the football. The 49ers started a new week Monday in Har- baugh’s version of the West Coast system, a style that is quickly winning over many of his players and has them excited about its potential for the upcom- ing season. ‘‘It’s making better use of the talent we have all across the board,’’ receiver Josh Morgan said. ‘‘It just puts everybody, even the quarterbacks, in the best position to be successful. And I mean everybody.’’ The 49ers signed Har- baugh to a five-year con- tract in January to replace Singletary, whose exper- tise was on defense. Har- baugh, who played 15 NFL seasons at quarter- back, built a reputation for offensive success while turning losing programs into big winners at the Uni- versity of San Diego and Stanford before coming to San Francisco. Harbaugh’s system is quickly grabbing hold of his new team, which has fielded one of the NFL’s worst offenses over the past decade. The 49ers finished 24th in the league rankings for total offense last year dur- ing a disappointing 6-10 season, and that ranking was actually an improve- ment over the season before. Despite stockpiling some quality young talent on offense in recent years, San Francisco has not fin- ished higher than 23rd in MLB West Division National League WL Pct GB GIANTS 63 52 .548 — Arizona 62 52 .544 .5 Colorado 54 62 .466 9.5 Dodgers 52 61 .460 10 Padres 51 65 .440 12.5 East Division WL Pct GB Philadelphia74 40 .649 — Atlanta 67 49 .578 8 New York 57 57 .500 17 Washington 55 59 .482 19 Florida 55 60 .478 19.5 Central Division WL Pct GB Milwaukee 65 50 .565 — St. Louis 62 53 .539 3 Cincinnati 55 60 .478 10 Pittsburgh 54 59 .478 10 Chicago 49 66 .426 16 Houston 37 77 .325 27.5 —————————————————— Monday’s results Pittsburgh at San Francisco, late Atlanta 8, Florida 5 Colorado 10, Cincinnati 7 New York 9, San Diego 8 Houston at Arizona, late Philadelphia at Los Angeles, late Washington at Chicago, ppd., rain Today’s games Pittsburgh (Ja.McDonald 7-5) at S.F. (Bumgarner 6-11), 7:15 p.m. Atlanta (Beachy 5-2) at Florida (Hensley 1-4), 4:10 p.m. Colorado (Rogers 5-1) at Cincinnati (Willis 0-1), 4:10 p.m. San Diego (LeBlanc 0-2) at New York (Capuano 9-10), 4:10 p.m. Washington (Wang 0-2) at Chicago (Garza 5-8), 5:05 p.m. Milwaukee (Marcum 10-3) at St. Louis (E.Jackson 1-1), 5:15 p.m. Houston (Lyles 1-6) at Arizona (Marquis 8-6), 6:40 p.m. Philadelphia (Cl.Lee 11-7) at Los Angeles (Lilly 7-11), 7:10 p.m. Wednesday’s games Pittsburgh at San Fran., 12:45 p.m. Philadelphia at Los Angeles, 12:10 p.m. Atlanta at Florida, 4:10 p.m. Colorado at Cincinnati, 4:10 p.m. San Diego at New York, 4:10 p.m. Washington at Chicago, 5:05 p.m. Milwaukee at St. Louis, 5:15 p.m. Houston at Arizona, 6:40 p.m. total offense since 2003. The 49ers have finished 26th or lower five times in the past seven years. This year promises to be different. Fullback Moran Norris has been with the 49ers since 2006, and he has yet to play in such a diversified offense since joining the team. ‘‘I love this whole offense,’’ Norris said. ‘‘It suits everybody. Every role matters and I don’t think any (position) stands out more than others. It’s all in one big pot and you just mix it up together.’’ The 49ers added to the mix late last week with the addition of free-agent receiver Braylon Edwards. A Pro Bowler in 2007, Edwards fills a void while Michael Crabtree, San Francisco’s No. 1 receiver, remains sidelined with a foot injury that could keep him out the rest of this month. Edwards joins other for- mer Pro Bowlers at the skill positions in running back Frank Gore and tight end Vernon Davis. With incumbent starting quarter- back Alex Smith returning to run the offense last Thursday, the offense has picked up the pace with San Francisco’s preseason opener looming Friday at New Orleans. ‘‘They’re executing it well, they’re learning it well, and there’s been a lot put in so far in the first eight days of meetings,’’ Harbaugh said. ‘‘Then, you go back and teach the parts. You put in the whole and then you put in the parts. We’ve got quite a bit in now, and I really have not noticed them hit the wall mentally, which is a good sign that bodes well for us.’’ MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Galaxy 13 3 9 48 35 20 FC Dallas 12 6 6 42 31 24 Seattle 11 5 8 41 35 27 Colorado 9 6 10 37 35 31 Salt Lake 10 5 6 36 30 16 Chivas USA 7 8 8 29 30 26 Portland 7 10 5 26 28 35 QUAKES 58 10 25 25 30 Vancouver 3 11 9 18 25 36 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Columbus 9 7 7 34 24 22 Philadelphia 8 5 9 33 27 20 New York 6 6 12 30 37 33 Kansas City 7 7 9 30 32 30 Houston 6 7 10 28 28 28 D.C. 6 6 9 27 29 33 N. England 4 10 9 21 22 33 Toronto FC 3 11 11 20 24 46 Chicago 2 7 13 19 23 30 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. —————————————————— Saturday’s games Colorado at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Chivas USA at Seattle FC, 1 p.m. Real Salt Lake at Toronto FC, 4 p.m. Chicago at New York, 4:30 p.m. New England at Columbus, 4:30 p.m. Vancouver at D.C. United, 4:30 p.m. FC Dallas at Philadelphia, 5 p.m. Sunday’s game Portland at Houston, 6 p.m. NASCAR Sprint Cup Points Leaders 1. Carl Edwards 2. Jimmie Johnson 3. Kyle Busch 4. Kurt Busch 5. Kevin Harvick 6. Matt Kenseth 7. Jeff Gordon 8. Ryan Newman 9. Tony Stewart 10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 11. Denny Hamlin 12. Clint Bowyer 13. Greg Biffle 14. Paul Menard 15. Mark Martin 16. Kasey Kahne 17. A J Allmendinger 18. Brad Keselowski 19. David Ragan 20. Joey Logano 720 711 709 706 700 694 668 658 642 641 618 600 597 587 567 567 562 558 556 548 21. Juan Pablo Montoya 539 22. Martin Truex Jr. 23. Marcos Ambrose 24. David Reutimann 25. Regan Smith 26. Jeff Burton 27. Jamie McMurray 28. Brian Vickers 29. Bobby Labonte 30. David Gilliland 31. Dave Blaney 32. Casey Mears 33. Andy Lally 34. Robby Gordon 35. Tony Raines 36. Bill Elliott 37. J.J.Yeley 38. Michael McDowell 39. Ken Schrader 40. Terry Labonte 41. David Stremme 42. Michael Waltrip 43. Andy Pilgrim 44. Chris Cook 45. Boris Said 46. Brian Simo 47. T.J. Bell 48. Geoff Bodine 49. Brian Keselowski 50. Steve Park 537 529 476 474 472 463 449 446 379 303 291 248 203 123 100 78 75 73 71 33 20 18 17 16 11 7 6 3 2 Upcoming Schedule Aug. 14 — Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen, Watkins Glen, N.Y. Aug. 21 — Pure Michigan 400, Brooklyn, Mich. Aug. 27 — Irwin Tools Night Race, Bristol, Tenn. Sep. 4 — AdvoCare 500, Hampton, Ga.