DENVER - I am amazed by how quickly fans and some in the press jumped to the contract issue upon learning that Madison Bumgarner got hurt in a dirt-bike crash. I mean within seconds.
Can they dock his pay?
Can they void his contract?
I hope he's OK.
In that order.
That's life in big-time sports, I guess.
I really believe the contract issue is moot. Are the Giants allowed to take money from Bumgarner? Does his contract prohibit what he did? It's fuzzy, and I'll get to that after I make this point:
The real issue is how the Giants will view Bumgarner long term, beyond 2017, and that really depends on how badly hurt he is, when he returns and what he still can give the Giants.