By Jeremy Harness

Sure, things can be better at this stage of the season. But also, given everything the Giants have been through thus far, they can be a whole lot worse.

The Giants are currently 4 ½ games behind the front-running Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West, for they should feel very fortunate at this point due to the fact the they have struggled in different areas for much of the first half.

For one, the Giants have yet to establish their winning ways at AT&T Park. The Giants have yet to show a real dominance in their friendly confines, but they showed signs of getting that back on track with a three-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies just before the All-Star break.

They had also struggled to find a replacement for Pablo Sandoval at third base. They thought they had found that in Casey McGehee, whom the Giants picked up as a free agent from the Miami Marlins. However, the move proved to be a disappointment, and the Giants designated him for assignment for a second time a few weeks ago, and the third baseman eventually returned to the Marlins.

The Giants have now gone with Matt Duffy, who has taken advantage of the opportunity to play every day while McGehee fizzled, and he has not looked back.

The team now has most of their key pieces back in the mix as well. Matt Cain, for instance, has returned to the rotation after missing almost a year while recovering from elbow surgery.

Meanwhile, Hunter Pence missed much of the first half after suffering a forearm fracture in spring training, but he has returned to the lineup. His presence was certainly felt when he unleashed a grand slam into the right-field seats.

At this point, there is reason to be carefully optimistic, but for the Giants, there is plenty of work to do. However, they have been in this position many times before.