Clark Out of Intensive Care

Dodger batting instructor Jack Clark, who was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident Sunday morning, was moved from the intensive care unit to a private room Tuesday, and there’s a good chance he’ll be released from Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Phoenix today.

It probably will be several weeks before Clark resumes his duties with the team, but he sounds like a coach who will return sooner rather than later.

“I wanted to come out [Tuesday] but I don’t think I could have gotten my uniform on with my [injured] rib cage,” Clark said by phone from the hospital Tuesday. “I wanted to come back to see Odalis [Perez] and [Kevin Brown] pitch and see the guys play. I wanted to see [Darren Dreifort] pitch in San Diego. I hope to return soon.”

Clark, 47, also hopes to get back on his motorcycle soon, but with a helmet. Clark said he usually wears a helmet, but since it was a short ride to the park from his Phoenix-area home Sunday, he was not wearing one when the accident occurred on Interstate 10 near downtown Phoenix. Arizona does not have a helmet law.

Clark was riding in the right lane when a minivan hit a small car in the left lane, sending the car into Clark’s motorcycle.

Clark was thrown from the motorcycle and suffered six broken ribs, deep cuts on his forehead, nose and scalp, and burns from sliding on the road. A Dodger team official said Monday that Clark suffered a collapsed lung, but that report was inaccurate.

“I remember trying to dodge [the car] and after that, I don’t remember anything,” Clark said. “I know if I hit that car in front of me, I would have been hurt really bad. I was probably lucky it was Sunday and lucky there wasn’t much traffic. I don’t know if I jumped off the bike or they hit me. Next thing I knew I was in the hospital getting my face stitched up.... I won’t take the chance of riding without a helmet.”

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A surgically repaired right knee and the loss of 20 pounds over the winter have Dodger left fielder Brian Jordan feeling frisky on the basepaths. After singling in a run in the first inning of Monday’s 8-0 season-opening win over Arizona, Jordan took off for second.

It took a perfect throw from Diamondback catcher Chad Moeller to nail Jordan, but that won’t discourage him. After stealing two bases in four attempts last season and three bases in five attempts in 2001, Jordan would like to be more of a threat in 2003. His career high for stolen bases was 24 for St. Louis in 1995.

“I’m gonna steal this year,” Jordan said. “It will be another three weeks until the knee feels perfect; then I’ll be ready to run. It’s been part of my game, but knee problems the past two years really shut me down. I feel faster right now.”

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Pitcher Wilson Alvarez, who initially balked at a minor league assignment when told he wouldn’t be on the Dodger roster Friday night, has accepted an invitation to pitch for triple-A Las Vegas, which opens the season Thursday.