Firing Said to Be Close for McKeon : Padres: Team sources say no replacement has been picked. On the field, the Padres beat the Dodgers, 9-4.

The Padre ownership group has decided to fire Jack McKeon, vice president/baseball operations, sources said Wednesday, but is waiting to find a replacement before an announcement is made.

Padre Chairman Tom Werner, reached at his Los Angeles office, would not confirm the decision, saying, “It’s inappropriate to comment at this time. I’m sorry, that’s all I can say.”

McKeon, who left Dodger Stadium before the completion of the Padres’ 9-4 victory over the Dodgers, said: “I haven’t heard a word, but they have the prerogative to do what they want. I have a lot of pride. I don’t have anything to be ashamed of.”

The Padres plan to retain McKeon until they find a replacement, sources inside and outside the organization said. But it’s possible McKeon could be fired as early as Friday. McKeon, who has one year left on his contract that will pay him $400,000, is scheduled to meet Werner that morning at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. Although the meeting was scheduled a month ago, designed to discuss the budget and the club’s direction, sources close to McKeon said he plans to address his status.

“I’m OK, I can handle this,” McKeon said, “but it’s been tough on my friends and family. They take it a little harder than I do.

“I’m sure right now it’s got to be unsettling for everyone in the organization.”

McKeon, who has been with the Padres since July, 1980, has had little contact with Werner since relinquishing his managerial duties July 11 and returning full time to the front office. They have not spoken to one another since rumors of McKeon’s dismissal surfaced a week ago.

McKeon is expected to be one of several dismissed from the Padre front-office, and it is believed that the new general manager will be given authority to determine the fate of Tom Romenesko, director of player development, and Randy Smith, director of scouting.

The identity of McKeon’s successor is unknown. The Padres already have interviewed Gordon Ash, Toronto Blue Jay assistant general manager, and are believed to have interviewed Roger Jongewaard, the Seattle Mariner vice president/scouting and development. Sources say the Padres also hope to interview Larry Himes, who will leave his position as Chicago White Sox general manager at the end of the season.

The Padres also asked for permission from the Minnesota Twins to interview General Manager Andy MacPhail, but MacPhail turned down the request.

If speculation in baseball circles is correct, Jongewaard is considered to be at least one of the finalists,

Jongewaard, 53, a Long Beach native, has been with the Mariners for five years, four as their scouting director and one in his present capacity. He has been in professional baseball for the past 30 years and has been a scout for the Angels, Texas Rangers, New York Mets and Detroit Tigers. He has signed such players as Darryl Strawberry, Kevin Mitchell, Mike Scott, Lenny Dykstra and Hubie Brooks.

When contacted, Jongewaard refused to say whether he had been interviewed but said he would be interested if the job was offered.

“I wouldn’t want to say if I talked to them or not,” Jongewaard said, “but I think everybody works toward that goal of being in that position (as general manager). It’d be foolish not to be interested.”

McKeon, as with almost everyone else in the Padre organization, will continue to listen to the names that surface and wonder if each day will be his last. If the Padres don’t want him, he’s confident someone else will.

“When there’s smoke, there’s usually fire,” McKeon said, “but I can honestly say I’ve done everything I could for this organization to make it a winner. Yeah, I know we had a bad season. I know people had high expectations of us this year. Hell, I did too.

“But who’s to say we can’t turn it around next year? Look at the Reds and all of the distractions they had last year. And look at the way they’ve bounced back this season. We’ve had a lot of distractions, too.

“Who’s to say we can’t do the same?”

Certainly, the Padres (72-77) are beginning to show signs that they’re not as bad as they’ve played this season, winning their fifth consecutive game--equal to their season best--in front of a subdued crowd of 26,996.

The loss kept the Dodgers 4 1/2 games behind Cincinnati in the NL West race. The Reds lost, 5-2, to Houston Wednesday night.

The Padres overcame a 4-0 deficit against Fernando Valenzuela by scoring three runs in the fifth and getting a grand-slam from Benito Santiago in the sixth and a two-run homer by Mike Pagliarulo in the seventh.

It was a rare quinella for a Padre power supply, considering Santiago and Pagliarulo had gone a combined 332 at-bats since their last home runs. Santiago’s last homer occurred June 12; Pagliarulo’s was June 23.

Derek Lilliquist (4-10), who allowed seven hits and four runs in six innings, was the winning pitcher. Greg Harris pitched the final three innings for his eighth save.

Padre Notes

Padre right fielder Tony Gwynn underwent a medical procedure Wednesday at La Jolla’s Scripps Clinic in which he had a pin inserted in his right index finger. The procedure as performed by Dr. Cliff Colwell and Dr. Merlin Hamer, who notified the Padres that the pin will remain in place for three to six weeks. Gwynn, who was sedated and unavailable for comment, suffered the season-ending injury Saturday in Atlanta when he crashed into the outfield wall. Although Gwynn is expected to clean out his locker and leave Friday before his teammates arrive for their weekend series against the Cincinnati Reds, several Padre players said that they’d like to clear up any misunderstandings with him. . . . Padre outfielder Shawn Abner suffered a strained left hamstring in the second inning and could miss the remainder of the season. . . . The Padres have granted permission to the Cleveland Indians to interview Brian Granger, the Padres’ national cross-checker, for their vacant scouting director’s job.