TBF's Postseason Predictions Extravaganza - Round 1.

As the dust settles on the 2012 regular season, we finally have a concrete idea of which teams will be facing each other in the first round of this year's playoffs. Let's break each series down:

• AL Wild Card Game: Orioles at Rangers.
• TEX won regular season series 5-2
• Key Players: Josh Hamilton, Adam Jones - Hamilton's bat has been cold lately, as have Jones's feet. Hamilton only has 7 extra base hits since September started, and Jones has just 9. Both need to heat up for their teams to stand a chance.
• Position-By-Position Comparison:
• Catcher - BAL Matt Wieters, TEX Geovany Soto - Advantage BAL
• First base - BAL Mark Reynolds, TEX Mike Napoli - Advantage TEX
• Second base - BAL Ryan Flaherty, TEX Ian Kinsler - Advantage TEX
• Shortstop - BAL J.J. Hardy, TEX Elvis Andrus - Advantage TEX
• Third base - BAL Manny Machado, TEX Adrian Beltre - Advantage TEX
• Right field - BAL Nick Markakis, TEX Nelson Cruz - Advantage TEX
• Center field - BAL Adam Jones, TEX Josh Hamilton - Advantage TEX
• Left field - BAL Nate McLouth, TEX David Murphy - Advantage BAL
• Designated hitter - BAL Jim Thome, TEX Michael Young - Advantage BAL
• Rotation - BAL Chen, Gonzalez, Tillman, Saunders, Britton; TEX Darvish, Holland, Harrison, Dempster, Perez - Advantage TEX
• Closer - BAL Jim Johnson, TEX Joe Nathan - Advantage BAL
• TBF's pick: TEX def. BAL

• NL Wild Card Game: Cardinals at Braves.
• ATL won regular season series 5-1
• Key Players: Carlos Beltran, Kris Medlen - Beltran's numbers at Turner Field this year are nothing special, but he's a dangerous batter no matter where he is. However, Medlen has been on fire since becoming a starter, and tends to rise to the occasion when necessary.
• Position-By-Position Comparison:
• Catcher - STL Yadier Molina, ATL Brian McCann - Advantage STL
• First base - STL Allen Craig, ATL Freddie Freeman - Advantage ATL
• Second base - STL Skip Schumaker, ATL Dan Uggla - Advantage ATL
• Shortstop - STL Pete Kozma, ATL Andrelton Simmons - Advantage STL
• Third base - STL David Freese, ATL Chipper Jones - Advantage ATL
• Right field - STL Carlos Beltran, ATL Jason Heyward - Advantage STL
• Center field - STL Jon Jay, ATL Michael Bourn - Advantage ATL
• Left field - STL Matt Holliday, ATL Martin Prado - Advantage STL
• Rotation - STL Wainwright, Lohse, Garcia, Westbrook, Carpenter; ATL Medlen, Hudson, Hanson, Minor, Maholm - Advantage ATL
• Closer - STL Jason Motte, ATL Craig Kimbrel - Advantage ATL
• TBF's pick: ATL def. STL

• AL Division Series with Wild Card Winner: Orioles/Rangers at Yankees.
• BAL and NYY tied regular season series 9-9, NYY won regular season series against TEX 4-3
• Key Player: Alex Rodriguez - A-Rod has the distinction of being the only player to strike out in two consecutive seasons to end his team's year in the playoffs. He must regain his power swing if the Yanks hope to have a shot at title number 28.
• Position-By-Position Comparison:
• Catcher - BAL Wieters/TEX Soto, NYY Russell Martin - Advantage BAL/NYY
• First base - BAL Reynolds/TEX Napoli, NYY Mark Teixeira - Advantage NYY/NYY
• Second base - BAL Flaherty/TEX Kinsler, NYY Robinson Cano - Advantage NYY/NYY
• Shortstop - BAL Hardy/TEX Andrus, NYY Derek Jeter - Advantage NYY/NYY
• Third base - BAL Machado/TEX Beltre, NYY Alex Rodriguez - Advantage NYY/TEX
• Right field - BAL Markakis/TEX Cruz, NYY Nick Swisher - Advantage NYY/NYY
• Center field - BAL Jones/TEX Hamilton, NYY Curtis Granderson - Advantage BAL/TEX
• Left field - BAL McLouth/TEX Murphy, NYY Ichiro Suzuki - Advantage NYY/NYY
• Designated hitter - BAL Thome/TEX Young, NYY Raul Ibanez - Advantage BAL/NYY
• Rotation - NYY Sabathia, Kuroda, Hughes, Nova, Pettitte - Advantage NYY/TEX
• Closer - BAL Johnson/TEX Nathan, NYY Rafael Soriano - Advantage BAL/NYY
• TBF's pick: if BAL/NYY, NYY; if TEX/NYY, TEX

• NL Division Series with Wild Card Winner: Cardinals/Braves at Nationals.
• WAS won regular season series against STL 4-3, WAS won regular season series against ATL 10-8
• Key Player: Michael Morse - It's hard to pick just one player for the Nats, as Jayson Werth, Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond all need to deliver like they have all year. But Morse has a chance to be the game-changer with one swing of his mighty bat.
• Position-By-Position Comparison:
• Catcher - STL Molina/ATL McCann, WAS Kurt Suzuki - Advantage STL/ATL
• First base - STL Craig/ATL Freeman, WAS Adam LaRoche - Advantage WAS/ATL
• Second base - STL Schumaker/ATL Uggla, WAS Danny Espinosa - Advantage WAS/WAS
• Shortstop - STL Kozma/ATL Simmons, WAS Ian Desmond - Advantage WAS/WAS
• Third base - STL Freese/ATL Jones, WAS Ryan Zimmerman - Advantage WAS/ATL
• Right field - STL Beltran/ATL Heyward, WAS Jayson Werth - Advantage STL/WAS
• Center field - STL Jay/ATL Bourn, WAS Bryce Harper - Advantage WAS/WAS
• Left field - STL Holliday/ATL Prado, WAS Michael Morse - Advantage STL/WAS
• Rotation - WAS Gonzalez, Zimmermann, Jackson, Detweiler, Lannan - Advantage WAS/ATL
• Closer - STL Motte/ATL Kimbrel, WAS Drew Storen - Advantage WAS/ATL
• TBF's pick: if STL/WAS, WAS; if ATL/WAS, ATL

• AL Division Series with Division Winners: Athletics at Tigers.
• DET won regular season series 4-3
• Key Players: Grant Balfour, Miguel Cabrera - Balfour has managed to keep the bullpen afloat while providing a strong veteran presence on a team with 17 rookies, but after winning the first batting Triple Crown in 45 years, there's seemingly no stopping Miggy.
• Position-By-Position Comparison:
• Catcher - OAK Derek Norris, DET Alex Avila - Advantage DET
• First base - OAK Cris Carter, DET Prince Fielder - Advantage DET
• Second base - OAK Cliff Pennington, DET Omar Infante - Advantage OAK
• Shortstop - OAK Stephen Drew, DET Jhonny Peralta - Advantage OAK
• Third base - OAK Josh Donaldson, DET Miguel Cabrera - Advantage DET
• Right field - OAK Josh Reddick, DET Brennan Boesch - Advantage OAK
• Center field - OAK Coco Crisp, DET Austin Jackson - Advantage OAK
• Left field - OAK Yoenis Cespedes, DET Andy Dirks - Advantage OAK
• Designated hitter - OAK Seth Smith, DET Delmon Young - Advantage OAK
• Rotation - OAK Parker, Milone, Griffin, Straily, Blackley; DET Verlander, Scherzer, Fister, Porcello, Sanchez - Advantage DET
• Closer - OAK Grant Balfour, DET Jose Valverde - Advantage DET
• TBF's pick: DET def. OAK

• NL Division Series with Division Winners: Reds at Giants.
• CIN won regular season series 4-3
• Key Players: Jonny Cueto, Buster Posey - Just missing out on 20 wins, Cueto has been on fire for the Reds' pitching rotation this year, but it will be hard to match the intensity Posey has played with after a lost 2011. Expect the dark horse MVP candidate to be extremely important to San Fran's offense.
• Position-By-Position Comparison:
• Catcher - CIN Ryan Hanigan, SFO Buster Posey - Advantage SFO
• First base - CIN Joey Votto, SFO Brandon Belt - Advantage CIN
• Second base - CIN Brandon Phillips, SFO Marco Scutaro - Advantage CIN
• Shortstop - CIN Zack Cozart, SFO Brandon Crawford - Advantage CIN
• Third base - CIN Scott Rolen, SFO Pablo Sandoval - Advantage SFO
• Right field - CIN Jay Bruce, SFO Hunter Pence - Advantage CIN
• Center field - CIN Drew Stubbs, SFO Angel Pagan - Advantage CIN
• Left field - CIN Ryan Ludwick, SFO Gregor Blanco - Advantage CIN
• Rotation - CIN Cueto, Latos, Arroyo, Bailey, Leake; SFO Cain, Bumgarner, Vogelsong, Lincecum, Zito - Advantage SFO
• Closer - CIN Aroldis Chapman, SFO Sergio Romo - Advantage CIN
• TBF's pick: CIN def. SFO