The San Francisco Giants Stand Firmly Atop The Baseball World

The San Francisco Giants enter spring training as the defending World Series champions and winners of two of the last three “Fall Classics.” Once again, San Francisco is expected to compete for the National League West title, as a result of the club's strong pitching and core group of homegrown players, including Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval. The Giants also possess one of the best, yet still most underrated managers in baseball, 57-year-old Bruce Bochy.

What's even more amazing is that the Giants have won without really breaking the bank on outside free agents, like so many other high revenue teams have done.

For the Giants and their fanbase, it has to be so gratifying to see two franchises that play down the coast from them (namely their archrival Los Angeles Dodgers, as well as the Los Angeles Angels), spend so much money, without producing any recent World Series rings.