Giants need to find balance on and off the field

SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants have thrived in recent years by combining tangible success, such as on-field performance, with intangible qualities, most notably character.

That balance has been upset since the All-Star break, and recapturing it — at least for the dwindling days of the regular season — could prove too challenging for even the considerable skills of manager Bruce Bochy and the club’s front office.

Listing the shortcomings that have dragged the Giants from owning the Majors’ best record at the All-Star break (57-33) to compiling the worst record in the bigs during the second half (17-32) entering this weekend’s series at Arizona is relatively simple.

Identifying the intangibles is more problematic. These often emerge behind closed doors. Clubhouses and the players within them don’t yield secrets easily.

It can safely be said, however, that third baseman Matt Duffy’s departure for Tampa in the Matt Moore deal upset the chemistry that the Giants have held so dear through most of Bochy’s 10-year managerial tenure. They jettisoned the winner of last year’s Willie Mac award whose sheer passion for the game earned him that honor. No longer could San Francisco brag about the all-homegrown infield which seemed to be such a source of pride.

Duffy wasn’t indispensable, and maybe his Achilles strain would have limited his value as a player. His inclusion in the package of players the Giants yielded for Moore reportedly was necessary to execute the trade. Nevertheless, something was irretrievably lost with Duffy’s departure.

And nobody can deny that Duffy’s injury, combined with the ailments that concurrently sidelined second baseman Joe Panik and right fielder Hunter Pence, significantly impeded the Giants’ progress.

Maybe Duffy’s absence is merely a minor factor in the Giants’ swoon. But as any veteran baseball observer will insist, little things make a difference. Consider: San Francisco is 6-14 in one-run games since the All-Star break. Weak hitting and subpar pitching have created this record. If the Giants were merely .500 (10-10) in those contests, they’d trail first-place Los Angeles by just one game in the National League West. Instead, they’re struggling to stay in the Wild Card race.

It also could be suggested that they have lost too many games that they should have …

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