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Paid big bucks for Padres? You might get Dodgers wins — or Mets losses

The Padres may be about to fetch a record $3.9 billion sale price after a vicious ownership feud, as The California Post reported.

But just because you paid Dodgers prices, you might not get Dodgers wins.

You might get Mets losses.

Dodgers fans know the real question is not what a team sells for. Rather, the key is the kind of people who take over after the wire clears.

And in this case, that means private-equity billionaire José Feliciano, who is leading the Padres purchase, and is expected to become the controlling owner.

The Dodgers sold for $2.15 billion in 2012. Adjusted for inflation, that works out to about $3.1 billion today. Forbes recently valued the Dodgers at $7.8 billion. So — no, the Padres are not suddenly operating at Dodgers value.

But they are selling for a number close enough to the Dodgers’ purchase price to trigger the comparison that matters most: wWhat happens after the sale closes?

And the Padres are not some sleepy franchise changing hands in the background.

San Diego has opened the season with one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, and enough offense to turn that into a strong early record. This is not a team being sold on branding or promise. It is being sold with the kind of all-around play that can make October very interesting.

They are one of the best teams in baseball, and they would be leading or tied for first in........

© New York Post