After two days of basking in the glow of a Giants-dominated All Star Game, it is back to work tonight as the Giants open up a series at home against the Astros. Given how poorly the first half of the season ended, it is imperative that this team jumps out of the gate and takes advantage of what is a relatively soft schedule the next few weeks.

A lot has been written during the break about the keys to the Giants season the rest of the way, so I decided to take a look at three issues I see that perhaps have flown a bit under the radar. I fully believe that the Giants are the best team in the NL West, but in order to prove that they are going to have to overcome more than a few obstacles.

The Ryan Theriot Conundrum

You might be asking yourself, what “Ryan Theriot conundrum” are you referring to? The answer is simple, Theriot is simply not very good. Sorry Giants fans, but he isn’t and any attempt to suggest otherwise is a major overreaction to a small sample size over the first half of the season.

Yes, Theriot has delivered some big hits in crucial moments so far this year. And yes, he has been light years better than Manny Burriss was ever going to be. That said, we’re talking about a player in the #2 spot of the lineup, a spot many feel is where you should bat your best overall hitter, who is carrying a .279 wOBA and a 74 wRC+. Those marks rank him 9th on the team in both categories, which means Bruce Bochy is willingly running the lineup’s biggest black hole up there in a crucial spot in the order on a daily basis.

The problem is that there doesn’t appear to be a better option as we know neither Burriss or Joaquin Arias is going to provide any sort of upgrade. I’ve touched on this before, but if Theriot is going to remain the everyday second baseman, he cannot be allowed to continue hitting in the #2 spot and take away at-bats from superior hitters that are lower in the batting order.

I could very easily see Theriot’s performance regressing and if that’s the case and you’re looking for possible replacements, there are two names at Fresno that might make sense. The first is 26-year-old Brock Bond, who is not someone that would light the world on fire and isn’t an actual prospect, but who does have a demonstrated ability to take a walk (11.8 BB% in nearly 2,000 minor league PAs) and won’t hurt you in the field. Bond profiles as a very similar player to what Theriot was when he was young and posting OBPs closer to .350 than .300.

The second is Conor Gillaspie, who Giants fans know well. Gillaspie has never shown an ability to hit big league pitching, albeit it tiny samples, but he too does have average or better on-base potential. The bigger question with Gillaspie is whether or not he can play second base, but I would be willing to find out as we know he can hardly play his natural position at third base.

You could toss 23-year-old Nick Noonan into this mix as well, but the bottom line is that the Giants are not flush with options at second base. I would not be shocked to see Brian Sabean make a deal at the deadline for a second baseman, if for no other reason than it’s ridiculous to even keep Burriss on the bench at this point.

Pitching Regression

Everyone knows about the struggles of Tim Lincecum and a better second half from him is a must if the Giants are going to contend for a division title and a playoff spot. But to be honest, it can’t get a whole lot worse for Timmy and I fully expect him to be better going forward. How much better? I have no idea, but any sort of rebound will be a plus for this team.

I’m much more concerned about the rest of the rotation regressing over the final two-and-a-half months and how that might affect their chances. Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner should continue to be very good, so I’m not really all that worried about them. But the same cannot be said about the other two-thirds of the rotation, Ryan Vogelsong and Barry Zito.

My admiration for Vogelsong is well known and you know he will give you everything he’s got and more every time he takes the mound. However, the numbers cannot lie and whether we want to admit it as fans or not, he is pitching a little over his head right now and even I have a hard time believing he will hold his ERA under 3.00 the rest of the way. I believe that he can, but his low K-rate and low-BABIP are hard things to maintain, even for a guy with the intestinal fortitude that Vogelsong has.

Zito on the other hand is a ticking time bomb who could end up costing the Giants big time if he can’t hold it together. All you have to do is look at what Zito did last year to see where this thing could be going. In 2011, Zito finished with a 5.87 ERA and a 4.65 xFIP, and he did that while carrying a very low BABIP of .258. So far in 2012, Zito’s ERA stands at an easy-on-the-eyes 4.01. That’s all well and good, until you realize that his xFIP is stands at a career-high 5.33, his strikeout rate is down, his walk rate is up and that BABIP is still very low at .257.

If there is a glimmer of hope for Zito it’s that he is inducing more ground balls than he ever has a Giant and he’s managed to keep the ball in the park better than he did in 2011. That said, Zito could very quickly become a black hole in the starting rotation and with Lincecum trying to find himself, I’m not sure if the Giants can get by with two-thirds of their rotation pitching at a level so far below league average. Like the second base issue, the Giants do not have much in the way of options either, unless of course you believe Brad Penny could be good. Spoiler alert, I don’t.

Health Matters

Perhaps no team in baseball has a thinner, less effective set of bench players than the Giants. That’s an ugly truth, but one that needs to be addressed. As it stands right now, here is what the bench for the Giants looks like on most nights:

Hector Sanchez: 0.3 WAR

Nate Schierholtz: 0.3 WAR

Justin Christian: 0.1 WAR

Joaquin Arias: 0.0 WAR

Manny Burriss: -1.0 WAR

Already this year we’ve seen Pablo Sandoval miss a month because of injury and the team could not come close to replacing him. Buster Posey is of course coming off that horrific ankle injury and who knows how that will affect him as the season drags on. Melky Cabrera missed a series because of a hamstring problem and on more than a few occasions I’ve found myself holding my breath watching him chase a fly ball.

The point is, not a single member of the current starting lineup other than Ryan Theriot could reasonably be replaced at anywhere near an equal level should one of them succumb to a season-ending injury. That is a major concern and one that I’m sure keeps Sabean and Bochy up at night.

Looking at the farm system, there really isn’t anyone who I believe could step in and do the job should a Sandoval, Posey or Cabrera go down and to think they could pluck another Cody Ross-type player is simply unrealistic. So cross those fingers Giants fans, they’re gonna need all the help they can get.