SFGate

Getting off to a good start is important in almost every facet of life.

In baseball, starting off the season on the right foot can set a team up for a nice run deep into the season.

The ability to collect a surplus of wins in April does wonders for losing streaks that a team may experience further down the long road that is the Major League Baseball season.

Like any team in the MLB, the San Francisco Giants have had their own ups and downs during the first month of baseball.

I really, really like John Bowker . I admit that.

The Oakland Athletics were gracious enough to hook Bleacher Report up with a press pass and a closer look at their collection of young talent.

The baseball season is 162 games long, so some losses just have to be written off and filed away in a folder tagged "Stuff Happens."

The San Francisco Giants' 6-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday wasn't one of those games. Manager Bruce Bochy and his willingness to go by the book cost the Giants the game.

The San Francisco Giants are one of baseball's toss-up teams this season. They could either have sustained success due to the depth of their starting pitching rotation, or miss the playoffs once again based on their offensive deficiencies. These five factors could make the difference between a long playoff run and an early end to to the season.

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As the Spring Training days count down, the Opening Day roster gets more and more set, and the battles for those final roster spots get more and more heated. This year is no exception, but due to injuries and some surprising spring performances, the spots open at the beginning of the offseason are not the same spots we see open now.

For example, most people thought that after his impressive debut, Madison Bumgarner was the favorite for the fifth starter spot. And he was.

There was something to be said for growing up in the 1960s and only being able to hear San Francisco Giants exhibition games on my transistor radio.

I felt all the hope of spring without actually seeing Jim Ray Hart butchering ground balls at third base or the parade of inadequate starting pitchers behind Juan Marichal.

When Street and Smith's baseball annual had the Giants picked to win the National League, I knew everything I needed to know about the club and the glorious summer that was surely ahead.

Whether in New York or San Francisco, the Giants have always played a prominent role in the history of the home run.

Barry Bonds is the all-time career home leader after belting 73 in 2001 to set the single-season record. He hit the bulk of them in the heart of the steroids era, but still thrilled fans across the country who were largely unaware of the controversy that would unfold later.

Willie Mays and Willie McCovey rank among the all-time career home run leaders, as does New York Giants legend Mel Ott.

Almost all of us who follow the game of baseball have heard the claim that “pitching and defense win championships.”

But is there any truth to that claim in this day and age?

While teams built primarily on pitching and defense may have been more suited to win World Series Championships in past eras, the current age of baseball is built on offense.

After looking at the Top 5 Reasons to look forward to 2010, I wanted to look back at the history of the Giants since their inception in as the New York Gothams in 1883.

As one of the oldest franchises in Major League history, the Gothams/New York Giants/San Francisco Giants franchise has a lot of boast about. They have the most wins of ANY franchise in baseball history, with 10,270 wins under their belt. They've won five World Series titles and 20 National League pennants.