San Francisco Giants: 5 Things That Must Happen for the Giants to Win the West

The San Francisco Giants were on cruise control for a while, leading the NL West with no real concern about any other team, including the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

Those D-Backs didn't go away however, and today, the Giants find themselves looking up at them in the standings.

All is not lost though as we are still in August, and there is plenty of time for the Giants to overtake the Diamondbacks and win the NL West. 

These five things must happen however, if the Giants hope to accomplish that goal.

The Giants Have to Find Some Kind of Sustainable Offense

I'm certainly not breaking any news by pointing out that the Giants' offense is beyond horrible.  Part of it may be due to the fact that they haven't had an opportunity to have a steady lineup game in and game out. 

The Giants main offensive problem is that they have far too many similar hitters. Hitters who are too aggressive when they need to patient and too patient when they need to be aggressive.  The result is far too many pop ups, ground outs and uninspiring fly balls.

For the Giants to overcome their current two-game deficit, Bruce Bochy will have to take advantage of the injured getting relatively healthy and hope that the consistency that will come with health, creates a comfort level that allows for better run production than we have seen. 

The Giants Must Find a Productive Leadoff Hitter

Every team needs a spark at the top of the lineup. In 2010 that spark for the Giants was Andres Torres who had a career year. 

2011 has been a completely different story for Torres who is currently on the DL.  Upon his return, no one expects that he will have suddenly found his 2010 magic and will once again lead the team into the playoffs.

Bruce Bochy has tried many different options at leadoff, most recently Orlando Cabrera.  For this team to make a charge and win the NL West, they will need someone to step up as a pate setter in the leadoff spot.  Without Torres as an option, a heating Cody Ross just might be the answer.

The Top 4 Starters Will Have to Be Solid

Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Ryan Vogelsong and Madison Bumgarner make up one the best groups of starting pitchers in all of baseball. 

Each has had a few rough outings as every pitcher will face during the course of a baseball season.  Each will have to be at the top of their respective games for the rest of the season if the Giants are to pass the Diamondbacks and win the NL West.

Without a fifth starter after injuries to Jonathan Sanchez and Barry Zito, the performance of the other four becomes crucial down the stretch.  The mental makeup of each, coupled with their gameday abilities makes this a safe bet to happen, it will have to for the Giants to play baseball in October again.

Arizona Will Have to Stumble

The Arizona Diamondbacks are a story that no one in baseball outside of Phoenix saw being written this year.  The Giants can tell you first hand that the story has in fact been written and it is not fiction.

The deficit between the two teams isn't so great that Arizona will have to take a San Diego-esque nose dive for the Giants to catch them.  Arizona will just have to come down off the high that was created by multiple late-inning victories that they enjoyed at the beginning of August.

The D-Backs have come back to earth a little bit recently which has allowed the Giants to stick around through the worst month of the season.  If Arizona goes through September closer to the team they were at the end of August, the Giants will have the opportunity to overtake them. 

It will then be up to them to do just that.

Brian Wilson Must Return Healthy

A perfect scenario for Giants fans is that Brian Wilson returns to the mound after two weeks of rest, no more fire in his elbow and the lay off makes him better than ever as he leads the team through the play offs.

Unfortunately this scenario is most likely a pipe dream.  The elbow inflammation that has sidelined Brian Wilson is a serious concern.  Wilson had Tommy John surgery in college and when he first felt the pain while the team was in Atlanta, he flew to Florida to see the same doctor who had performed that surgery.

That short trip from Atlanta to Florida caused fans of the reigning champions everywhere to hold their breath.  The Giants have said that the problem is simple inflammation and that he'll be fine.  Wilson is not talking about the elbow, so we all have to wait and see.

If Wilson cannot return or if he does and is ineffective due to his elbow injury, the Giants probably would not be able to overcome that loss.