Another slow news day. Here’s what I came up with for tomorrow’s paper

By Tony Jackson
Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — It has gone virtually unnoticed in the shadow of the 15-game hitting streak that Rafael Furcal brought into Thursday night’s game at Washington and the never-ending exploits of catcher Russell Martin, but Dodgers left fielder Luis Gonzalez has sizzled of late.
Sizzled to the tune of an eight-game hitting streak of his own, during which he was batting .414 (12 for 29).
“I made some minor adjustments,” Gonzalez said. “I worked a little bit with (hitting coach) Eddie (Murray), just trying to shorten some stuff up a little bit. It’s just part of the game. You’re always tinkering with things.”
The surge has raised Gonzalez’s average almost 30 points to .286. In the first two games of the series here, he went 4 for 8 with a double and a three-run homer.
Gonzalez said his adjustment has been strictly mechanical and that he hasn’t changed his approach at the plate at all. Instead, he and Murray worked to simplify Gonzalez’s swing and reduce the amount of bodily movement it involved.
“We just generally played around with it until Eddie said, `Hey, let’s try this,”’ Gonzalez said. “I’m seeing the ball good and just going from there. When you have played this game as long as I have, you know when you’re in a zone and feeling good. But for the most part, you try not to get too high. You just ride it out and have good at-bats.
“Two weeks from now, I might be (adjusting) something else.”

Second thoughts: One day after he all but confirmed that left-hander Hong-Chih Kuo will be recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas to fill the vacant fifth spot in the Dodgers’ starting rotation beginning on Saturday night, manager Grady Little seemed to backtrack slightly.
“The only thing I’m leaning toward right now is that I’m not going to make an announcement on the guy yet,” Little said.
Little said his reticence comes from the fact another player — probably a position player, but not necessarily — will have to be sent to the minors to clear a roster spot if Kuo is called up. Kuo would give the Dodgers a 12-man staff if another pitcher isnt sent out, but Little said club officials haven’t decided on that yet.

Also: Although reliever Chin-hui Tsao becomes eligible to return from the 15-day DL on Monday night at Pittsburgh, it doesn’t appear that he will. Tsao played catch on Wednesday for the second time since going on the shelf with a right shoulder strain on May 23, and he continued to feel pain. He will throw again today.
“He is still a ways away,” Little said. “We won’t let him throw off a mound until he is completely free of any kind of tightess or soreness.”

Escape clause: Veteran outfielder Larry Bigbie, who is hitting .349 at Las Vegas, has another escape clause in his minor-league contract, and that clause kicks in today.
Bigbie also tried to find a major-league job when his last “out” clause went into effect at the end of spring training, only to find no takers. But that came at a point when most clubs had largely set their rosters for opening day and before Bigbie had proven he was all the way back from the hernia that sidelined him most of last season.
Considering his numbers, there may be a lot of interest in him this time.