Hahn antes up ***

The mayor has made his bet on the Dodgers with his counterpart in St. Louis. He defends the honor of his team and offers up—Cobbler King?

Dear Mayor Slay,

Today the National League Division Series will begin as my beloved Los Angeles Dodgers play the mighty St. Louis Cardinals. I have been a Dodgers fan all my life and attended their very first game here in Los Angeles as their honorary batboy. As you can imagine, I am incredibly excited about their return to post-season play. As Mayor, I take great pride in my city's sports teams, and I'm sure you feel the same way.

However, this series really isn't about pride, it is about sweet revenge. I know there have been a lot of comparisons made between your team this year and the 1985 Cardinals team. Both teams won over 100 games and both will face the Dodgers in the first round of the playoffs. But the Cardinals don't have Jack Clark anymore, and Dodgers closer Eric Gagne will not allow a repeat of the Cardinals lucky 1985 win in Game 6. Sweet revenge is so close, I can taste it.

To that end, I would like to propose a friendly wager on the outcome of this series. In the event that the never-say-die Dodgers should fall, I will send you and your staff sweet treats from a legendary LA institution, Cobbler King.

I hope that you will participate in this light-hearted wager. I look forward to hearing what St. Louis items you are willing to put on the line.

Very Truly Yours,

James K. Hahn
Mayor

P.S. Your team may be compared to the '85 Cardinals, but my team looks a lot like the '88 Dodgers.

Cobbler King? It's in Hahn's old neighborhood, on Jefferson near Crenshaw.

Meanwhile, the Times' Jason Reid today analyzes the teams by position and scores the Cardinals ahead or even at every spot except second base and the bullpen. The Cardinals led baseball with 105 wins, 12 more than the Dodgers. L.A. also starts the series with a pitcher, Odalis Perez, who won just seven games, despite playing all season. Yet Reid, without explanation, picks the Dodgers to win the series in 4. Homer?

* Spoiler: Perez doesn't last out the third inning, giving up three dingers as the Dodgers fall behind 7-zip. (** They go on to lose 8-3.)

*** Ace picker: Matt Welch (newly hired at Reason) totes up the evidence that he did a better job predicting the baseball playoff teams than 39 pro sports writers and pundits.