SAN FRANCISCO -- Defeat has evolved into a familiar companion for the Giants during the past year and a half. Sometimes it almost seemed like an inevitability.
One thing that losing will not become, the Giants insist as Spring Training approaches, is a habit.
Until recently, the Giants were most closely associated with losing's polar opposite: winning. Capturing World Series titles in 2010, '12 and '14 created an impression, an expectancy, that no matter what happens, the Giants should win -- if not a championship, then at least a large percentage of games.
This attitude remained almost tangible even as losses began to mount.