The closing also means Moorad replaces Sandy Alderson as the Padres' CEO and becomes the vice chairman of the team's board of directors.

Moorad will have day-to-day control of the Padres, but John Moores will continue to control the franchise until Moorad's group reaches the 51 percent ownership threshold. When that will be, no one knows.

Per the agreement between Moores and Moorad's group, it can't happen within the next year, and it could take as long as five years for the purchase to be finalized.

What does this mean for the Padres?

Well, unless the pitching suddenly gets appreciably better, the Padres could challenge last year's mark of 99 losses. The offense, with David Eckstein hitting in the No. 2 hole and with Kevin Kouzmanoff and Chase Headley having some seasoning in the Nos. 5 and 6 spots, could be slightly improved over 2008.

But the pitching has been woeful this spring.

With less than two weeks to go until Opening Day, the Padres were looking for at least two starters, and manager Bud Black could identify no more than four members of his seven-man bullpen.

"Some of our pitchers aren't in camp yet," general manager Kevin Towers said in late March -- before acquiring starter Shawn Hill, reliever Luke Gregerson and starter/reliever Eulogio De La Cruz.

And Towers probably isn't done. He had expressed interest in Tampa Bay's Jeff Niemann and Texas' Jason Jennings.

That tells you everything you need to know about the state of Padres' pitching.

Moorad said his group's purchase likely won't have any effect on the Padres' 2009 season. "The first thing we're going to do is observe," Moorad said. That could make his eyes rather than his mouth water.

The Padres have looked bad this spring. And many of the poorer efforts were turned in by players the Padres view as prospects.

Moorad said his group plans to build through the draft and farm system. By the time the full takeover is completed -- between 2012 and 2014 -- the Padres might be ready to challenge again.

THE PADRES WILL CONTEND IF ...: RHPs Jake Peavy and Chris Young both win 20 games, Adrian Gonzalez hits about .340 with runners in scoring position and the deplorable state of the bullpen turns out to be a spring mirage.

PRIMED FOR A BIG SEASON: 1B Adrian Gonzalez is the real deal. But since he's tucked away in San Diego on a struggling club, too few realize what a solid all-around player the 26-year-old is. In three full seasons with the Padres, Gonzalez has averaged 30 homers and 100 RBIs while hitting .288. Last year he had career highs of 36 homers and 119 RBIs -- the RBI total accounting for 19 percent of all runs scored by the Padres. Why are teams pitching to Gonzalez? Defensively, no first baseman is better at going to second on a bunt. His best help to the Padres, however, might be as trade bait. With Kyle Blanks waiting in the wings, it might behoove the Padres to negotiate a 3-for-1 deal for Gonzalez that would help fill the team's many holes.

ON THE DECLINE: Padres pitching en masse. Just two seasons ago, the Padres had the best staff and bullpen ERAs in the major leagues. Last year, the pitching ranked near the bottom. And this spring, it has been worse. RHP Cha Seung Baek is penciled in as the No. 3 starter even though his spring ERA was poor and he'd be a No. 5 at best on most other teams.