Time to Change Order?

There is an elephant in the clubhouse, and the Dodgers might not be able to ignore it much longer.

Beginning play Wednesday, catcher Paul Lo Duca was batting .361 with runners in scoring position, tied for ninth in the National League. But Lo Duca, the team’s primary No. 2 hitter, had only 36 at-bats in those situations while batting in a table-setting role.

The struggling Dodgers are last in the league in many categories offensively, including batting with runners in scoring position, so they would seemingly benefit from having their best hitter in that area batting lower in the order.

And that’s where things get sensitive.

Right fielder Shawn Green is most comfortable batting third, and moving Green would only give him more to worry about in a disappointing season. First baseman Fred McGriff is not suited for the job at this stage of his career, and the 17-year veteran has been relatively productive batting cleanup and fifth.

So that leaves left fielder Brian Jordan.

Jordan began Wednesday’s game batting .321 with runners in scoring position, third among Dodger regulars behind Lo Duca and McGriff (.333). Jordan is considered to have more power than Lo Duca, hitting at least 22 home runs four times, and driving in more than 90 runs four times, including at least 104 twice.

However, scouts who have followed the Dodgers doubt Jordan will approach his usual run-production statistics, considering he continues to experience pain in his left wrist and is still recovering from off-season surgery on his left knee. A CT scan on Jordan’s wrist Wednesday did not reveal a fracture or deep-bone bruise, but trainer Stan Johnston said Jordan’s soft-tissue injury will take longer to heal if he remains in the lineup.

Some in the organization believe the offense might receive a boost if Jordan and Lo Duca switch spots, providing the major league’s top pitching staff with enough support to overtake the first-place San Francisco Giants in the NL West.

Manager Jim Tracy has moved up Jordan, who prefers to bat cleanup or fifth, to third the last two games against the Detroit Tigers. Tracy admires how Jordan plays through pain, and Tracy would be reluctant to put a veteran player in an uncomfortable position.

But considering Tracy has seemingly tried everything else to jump-start the offense, would he consider making the bold move of switching Lo Duca and Jordan?

“Until I ventured into it with the players, I would never speak about it publicly,” said Tracy, who declined to comment on whether the move is under consideration.

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Tracy was scheduled to return to Los Angeles today to attend the graduation of his middle son, Chad, from Claremont High.

Bench coach Jim Riggleman, pitching coach Jim Colborn and third base coach Glenn Hoffman plan to share managing duties for today’s game.

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A Panorama City man charged with criminal trespassing for running onto the field May 21 at Dodger Stadium is scheduled to be arraigned today in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Oscar Villanueva, 26, faces six months in jail and a $1,000 fine after entering the outfield in the ninth inning of the Dodgers’ 3-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies.

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McGriff’s run-scoring single in the fourth inning was his 1,532nd run batted in, tying Joe DiMaggio for 36th place on the all-time list.... Through his attorney, reliever Guillermo Mota pleaded not guilty May 28 to two misdemeanors stemming from an April 21 alcohol-related arrest, according to a spokesman for the Glendale branch of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office. Mota, originally scheduled to be arraigned June 17, has another pretrial court date scheduled July 22.