Remember that sick, helpless, and hopeless feeling that every Dodger fan on the planet had this past Monday when Oakland A’s right-hander Kendall Graveman came inside with a 95+ MPH fastball that hit Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner, causing what was later confirmed to be a non-displaced fracture of his left wrist that will keep the Dodgers best hitter and unofficial team captain on the shelf for (presumably) eight to 10 weeks?

Well it’s probably safe to say that every San Francisco Giants fan on the planet felt the same way on Friday afternoon when Kansas City Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield smoked a line drive comebacker that hit Giants ace Madison Bumgarner, the guy scheduled to face Clayton Kershaw at Dodger Stadium six days from now on Opening Day 2018, on his left (pitching) hand, causing a displaced fracture to the fifth metacarpal (pinkie) that will require surgery to have pins inserted and will have him on that same shelf – perhaps until the All-Star break.

“It’s hard to control your reactions on something that’s happening that fast,” Bumgarner said, when asked why he put his pitching hand up to prevent being hit in the chest by the hard liner. “Obviously, I wish I wouldn’t have, rather wore it off the chest or most anywhere else, but that’s what happened.”

News of Bumgarner’s injury spread quickly across social media and, in spite of the fierce rivalry between the Dodgers and Giants and the mutual dislike between each other’s fans, nearly all of the replies on Twitter by Dodger fans were to express well wishes for the 28-year-old Hickory, North Carolina native and three-time World Series champion; this regardless of who your favorite team is.

Giants ace Madison Bumgarner talks with the media after learning that he will undergo surgery on Saturday morning. (Video capture courtesy of Kerry Crowley. Click on image to view video)

As if losing their ace wasn’t bad enough for Bruce Bochy’s club, they also lost right-hander Jeff Samardzija to a pectoral strain on Thursday that could keep the 33-year-old Merrillville, Indiana native out of action for the first month of the season as well. Prior to MadBum’s injury on Friday, it was being widely speculated that left-hander Derek Holland, a non-roster invitee to Giants spring training camp, would fill in for Samardzija behind 32-year-old right-hander Johnny Cueto. It now appears that Cueto will face Kershaw on Opening Day, with Holland possibly now the Giants number three starter.

Again, this is pure speculation, but with their backs against the wall and unless Giants general manager Bobby Evans makes a (very) late acquisition (or two), what other choice do the Giants have?

That being said and while there is genuine sympathy for Madison Bumgarner, there is absolutely zero sympathy whatsoever for the Giants as a whole.

…I mean, they are the Giants, after all.