Kroc Says Davis Deal Botched : Padres: Owner says President Dick Freeman made mistake in negotiations with free-agent reliever, which may prevent signing of Mark Langston.

Padre owner Joan Kroc blames President Dick Freeman for the free-agent status of Cy Young winner Mark Davis, which might prevent the club from signing free-agent starter Mark Langston, but she said Thursday that no one in the front office will be fired over the predicament.

“It’s not a good idea,” Kroc said. “What would be the use of that? I can’t make any changes because I’m selling the team. Why make changes when the new owner will probably want to do his thing?

“The fact of the matter is that we have not lost Mark Davis. We have not lost him. I’m not panicking. We can still sign him, and I think we have a 90% chance to get him.

“Right now, we’re going to do everything we can to get him.”

Today, Padre Manager Jack McKeon and Freeman are scheduled to meet with Langston at his agent’s office in Los Angeles. But while the Padres are highly interested in acquiring Langston’s services, it’s uncertain whether they will be willing to pay the price for each of the free agents.

“It depends on Davis,” Kroc said, “whether we could go after Langston or not.”

Fred Lane, a Chicago-based attorney who has been retained by Kroc to conduct negotiations with Davis and Langston, said: “Sure, there’s a relationship there. We have to look at the total payroll. Mark Davis is our first priority, but at the same time, we still must talk with other free agents. It’s essential because we’re not in control of the Mark Davis responses.”

The Padres and Davis still are worlds apart in negotiations. The Padres’ last offer to Davis was a three-year guaranteed contract for about $6 million. According to sources close to the negotiations, Davis is seeking a four-year contract in excess of $10 million.

“From our point of view,” Lane said, “they have not made a proposal which we believe is appropriate. We have rejected their figure on several occasions. If they stay on that figure, we will have a problem.

“It’s not reasonable to me that anyone will accept their offer.”

The painful aspect of the negotiations for the Padres is that agent Alan Hendricks informed Freeman this spring that Davis would be willing to sign a two-year extension for $2.8 million. Freeman made a counter-offer of $2.2 million over two years.

When the Padres refused to budge in the negotiations, Hendricks said he would leave their offer on the table until April 9. When the deadline passed, Hendricks told Freeman not to call again unless he had an overwhelming proposal.

They resumed negotiations at the end of the season, but by that time, of course, the stakes had risen considerably.

“Dick would be the first to admit he made an error in judgment,” Kroc said. “It was a mistake, a big mistake. But I don’t think he should be punished forever.”

Was Kroc ever informed of the original contract proposal?

“No,” she said, “that was strictly Dick’s call. Strictly Dick’s call.

“I’m not supposed to hear that, anyway. If I wanted to run the club, I would have moved my office into the stadium.”

Negotiations still are continuing in the sale of the Padres, and Kroc squelched rumors Thursday that she would retain the club and hire Jerry Kapstein, her son-in-law, as president. Kapstein, a player-agent, is decertified while conducting the sale negotiations.

“Jerry would be wonderful in the job,” Kroc said, “but I wouldn’t want to have family involved in the club again. The fact is, I want to sell the ballclub. I want out of baseball to spend more time with my family, and baseball is a very demanding mistress.”

There have been about 50 inquiries into purchasing the Padres, but sources close to the negotiations say several groups have moved into the forefront.

Kapstein refused to discuss the negotiations, only to say, “My responsibility is to conduct the process by which the Padres will be sold to new owners who will follow the philosophy of Mrs. Kroc, that is, reflecting her integrity and her total dedication to the community.”