Beltre’s Struggles Magnified

Dodger third baseman Adrian Beltre is under the microscope earlier than usual this season.

The four-year veteran is off to another slow start in what he acknowledged is a pivotal season for him, batting .220 with one home run and a team-high four errors beginning play Friday against the San Francisco Giants.

Beltre, 24, has not fulfilled the Dodgers’ big expectations since they rushed him to the major leagues at 19 in 1998. The season has only started, but the stakes are already rising for Beltre, who hit a ninth-inning home run Friday.

“If they decide to trade me that’s their decision, but I’m not going to make it easy on them,” he said. “I’m going to do everything I can to have a good season, so nobody can say, ‘They had to trade him because he didn’t do [anything].’

“I know I’m a better hitter than [.220], and I wasn’t happy with hitting [.257] last year. I’m a better hitter than that. I worked hard to have a good year, but that’s all I can do. If I do that and they trade me, that’s their choice.”

Manager Jim Tracy said Beltre shouldn’t be singled out at this point.

“It’s OK to be frustrated a little bit, but that’s all I’m going to say about it,” Tracy said. “I’m not going to make today’s notes be all about Adrian Beltre, when we’ve got about four or five guys that aren’t swinging the bat well.”

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Batting instructor Jack Clark, seriously injured in a motorcycle accident March 30, is tentatively scheduled to rejoin the club Monday.

Clark, recently cleared by physicians to fly, planned to travel from his Scottsdale, Ariz., home to Los Angeles this weekend to be with the club Tuesday when it begins a six-game homestand against the Padres and Giants.

Clark, still recovering from six broken ribs and deep cuts and burns suffered in the three-vehicle accident, might not resume full duties upon returning.

Under one plan being considered, Clark would initially work with players during batting practice and then watch games on TV in Tracy’s office. Manny Mota, filling in for Clark, would handle coaching duties on the bench.

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Catcher Paul Lo Duca is the club’s hottest hitter, but Tracy said he plans to handle him carefully because Lo Duca wore down during in the second half last season.

Backup catcher Todd Hundley is expected to start for the fourth time today.

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Dodger fans were angered that more than half of Thursday night’s game on Fox Sports Net 2 was preempted by playoff hockey, as the Mighty Ducks played three overtimes in Detroit.

To make matters worse, KFWB (980) lost its Dodger signal for about five minutes in the first inning. KFWB General Manger Roger Nadel said the station’s new control board malfunctioned.

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Staff writer Larry Stewart contributed to this report.