The “on pace to lose 109″ talk is bunk. Even Wall Street tells you “past performance is no guarantee of future results.” The 2009 Padres went 25-25 their first 50 games, then lost Jake Peavy and Chris Young within days, and went 13-37 the next 50. After calling up Stauffer, Latos and LeBlanc and got Richard for Peavy, they went 37-25 the last 62 games to finish 75-87, ahead of Arizona, and the same team that finished that season came back and made a 90 win run the next year. That’s the thing about baseball – they have to actually play all 162 games.

Grandal has never been blocked. Hundley is an excellent defensive catcher, and likely the veteran backup of the future. Every PR event the Padres put on, he’s there, a clean-cut, soft-spoken rep for the team.

Grandal has competition, though. The Padres have Jason Hagerty at AA, another 6’2″, 220 lb. switch hitting catcher with power, better defense and more experience. He’s sidelined with back trouble, or he’d be the call-up. They also have Austin Hedges at low-A, who is major league-ready defensively, but whose hitting needs work.

Grandal has only one year in pro ball, with half of it in high-A, and had 19 passed balls in 90 games last year. Somebody said his catching is improved, but in triple-A he has 5 PBs in 27 games. John Baker hasn’t meshed well with Padres pitchers, so Grandal might be the backup, with Hundley teaching him before they switch places.