BASEBALL / NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

National League President Bill White said in Atlanta that baseball’s executive committee conferred by phone for more than an hour Wednesday to “refine the procedure” by which a $95-million offer by the San Francisco-based group attempting to keep the San Francisco Giants in the Bay Area will be weighed against the $115-million offer by the Tampa-St. Petersburg group.

While White refused to elaborate, Dodger President Peter O’Malley, who supports the attempt to keep the Giants in San Francisco, suggested that the San Francisco group might be willing to improve the offer, closing the disparity between the two bids.

“I’m encouraged,” he said from Los Angeles. “Now there is an offer on the table. Now the negotiations can begin.”

Asked if the San Francisco offer could be accepted without plans for a new stadium being included, O’Malley said:

“There is great concern throughout baseball about Candlestick Park, but the first step is the sale of the team. I’m very impressed with the quality of people (in the San Francisco group) and the fact they’re all from the community. If a stadium is feasible, I believe this group can facilitate it.”