Wag

Well, that didn't take long. I tried to make a point on Friday, but I was too preoccupied with Predator for it to make much sense. Cristian Guzman is going to be better this year, and probably quite a bit better, than he was in 2005. His '05 was an aberration; he's a bad player, but he's not that bad. 2006 will see him return to something close to his career norms -- probably a little worse given the ballparks. But that won't stop our ever-pliable local sports media from attributing the improvement to one or more of the following:

• Guzman's fighting spirit
• Frank Robinson's managerial brilliance
• Jim Bowden's foresight in bringing in Royce Clayton to "push" Guzman

And we already have our first example!

The signing of veteran shortstop Royce Clayton to a minor league contract to compete against Cristian Guzman (.219 last season) will bring out the best in Guzman this spring. GM Jim Bowden didn't exactly give Cristian a vote of confidence, telling The Post's Dave Sheinin: "We're not going to sit back and watch Cristian Guzman have another year like he did last year." I predict Guzman will vie for comeback player of the year honors.

George Solomon's a real pro. He just packed all the tail-wagging inanity of a Boswell column into three quick sentences.

Speaking of tail-wagging, Puppy Bowl II lived up to the hype. The addition of a Kitty Halftime Show was genius. Some were bothered by the blatant product placement of Bissell machines cleaning up the puppy puddles in preparation for the kittens, but that was all forgotten when the confetti poured from the ceilings and confused the hell out of the kitties.

My vote for MVP went to Sheeba, the miniscule Shiba Ibu (whatever the hell that is) whose small size belied her ferocity. Danny is the current leader, which surprises me, as I expected the beagle vote to be split.