You knew the news wasn't exactly great with Matt Cain if the Giants were willing to trade two prospects for a rental pitcher like Jake Peavy. But you half-expected or hoped that the news wouldn't slide down the gully into the molten trash swamp this quickly. Shawn Estes told 95.7 the Game that Matt Cain was going to see Dr. James Andrews, and that when you go to Dr. Andrews, he's "not going to look at bone chips." Andrew Baggarly confirmed the report.
Before we freak out, note that Dr. Andrews doesn't always recommend Tommy John surgery. Just last month, he gave Marlins reliever Carter Capps good news. And if Cain's elbow isn't getting better, everyone would probably like to rule out the worst-case scenarios.
On the other hand, Andrews sure does recommend a lot of Tommy John surgeries ...
The situation moved from "adjusting the rotation after the All-Star Break" to "skipping a start" to "15-day DL" to "probably out for the rest of the year" to "checking with someone to see if he needs to miss 2015, too." The Giants are busy figuring out how to plug the leaky raft for this season; the last thing they need is to start the offseason down a rotation stalwart without the payroll to replace him.
Mostly, though, I miss watching Matt Cain pitch, and unless Andrews comes back with great news, there's going to be a lot of Carlton Loewer or Aaron Myette in the rotation next year. Maybe not the actual Loewer or Myette, but the modern-day equivalents. Be gentle, Dr. Andrews. Be gentle.