Former Dodgers bidder could take chance with Padres

High price,poor product

If you can’t buy ‘em, beat ‘em. That could be the motto for Steven Cohen, the hedge-fund billionaire and runner-up in the bidding for the Dodgers.

The San Diego Padres are up for sale, and Cohen is thought to be one of at least five potential buyers cleared by Major League Baseball to review the team’s confidential financial data.

Cohen already owns a small stake in his hometown New York Mets, but the majority owners of the Mets appear to have staved off the legal and financial distress that might have enabled Cohen to buy them out completely. Forbes estimates Cohen’s net worth at $8.3 billion.

Peter O’Malley and his family also are interested in the Padres.

The Padres are expected to be sold by the end of the season, leaving a new owner to try to bridge the widening gap between the cuddly little Friars and the newly capitalized Dodgers.

The Angels and Dodgers each visit Petco Park this week, with plenty of good seats available. The Padres have sold fewer than 20,000 tickets to 12 of their first 23 home games.

The Dodgers’ Matt Kemp has not hit a home run this month, and still he has only one fewer home run than all the Padres put together. The Padres’ second basemen have one double, or two fewer than hometown hero and Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg. The shortstops are batting .130.

The Padres have four starting pitchers on the disabled list. They are on pace to lose more games than any Padres club since the 1969 expansion season.

All this could be yours for the low, low price of … at least $600 million.

Quotes to go,baby on deck

John Axford blew the save for the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday, after converting 49 consecutive opportunities. He did not stick around to talk with reporters, but he did leave behind a note that started thus: “I put my wife into contractions with my performance tonight! So I had to run to the hospital.”

Axford added three sentences, then concluded: “Cliche … cliche … another cliche. Gotta go! Love, Ax.”

No joke. His wife had gone into premature labor, but Brewers Manager Ron Roenicke said Saturday that doctors had stabilized her condition and put her on bed rest.

We will win,your honor

The Dodgers have the best record in the National League. The Texas Rangers have the best record in the American League. The Phoenix Coyotes are four victories from the Stanley Cup finals.

What do all three teams have in common?

Time’s up:Bankruptcy!

The teams emerged from federal bankruptcy protection within the last three years. Then again, so did the Chicago Cubs. Even the vast powers of the courts are no match for a century of futility.