It wasn’t a terrible start, but in the course of getting 16 outs, Madison Bumgarner only got three strikeouts and allowed seven baserunners and four runs in the Giants’ 7-5 loss in Miami on Monday, so it definitely wasn’t vintage Bumgarner. After motorbiking his shoulder and line-driving his hand, the Giants’ ace is allowed some time to return to grace, of course, but it is still interesting to try and dissect what’s missing. Because it’s not obvious at all.



One clue that it’s not obvious is that three postgame analysts on NBC Sports Bay Area stepped to the plate and offered three different reasons for Bumgarner’s sluggish start. Exploring those reasons helps us get closer to what’s truly missing, which can help us try and figure out if the ace is going to find it again soon.



Javier Lopez was up first, and as a lefty and a former purveyor of breaking pitches, it was interesting to hear him opine on the state of...