Who will emerge in these playoffs?

• Red Sox are well-armed and well-bearded for another run
• How will the Dodgers manage without Matt Kemp%3F
• Is Miguel Cabrera healthy enough to make an impact%3F

The marathon is now a sprint. Tonight, baseball's playoffs begin, a month-long stretch often impacted by the great unknown. A look at some of the X factors:

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THE HIRSUTE HAMMERS

Something strange is going on in Boston. Must be another World Series year.

The Red Sox have brought us "Cowboy Up," "The Idiots" and whatever Jonathan Papelbon called his kilt-clad version of Riverdance accompanied by local Celtic punk rockers the Dropkick Murphys.

The 2003 team that adopted the "Cowboy Up" theme fell a game short of the World Series, but the '04 "Idiots" and Papelbon and his '07 teammates provided Boston's only World Series championships since 1918.

Now, Duck Dynasty fans could stumble on a Boston playoff game and feel at home, thanks to these hirsute hammers that produced baseball's best record. Credit Jonny Gomes and Mike Napoli, first-year Red Sox at the heart of the team-wide facial hair expansion.

What it all masks is a team that produced a startling turnaround from a dysfunctional 93-loss season. They should both fit in and stay warm if Game 7 of the World Series is played in Fenway Park on a chilly Halloween night.

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MAN OF STEAL

Billy Hamilton is something of a cult figure in Cincinnati. He was for more than a year before he even showed up thanks to his minor league record 155 stolen bases in 2012.

And he's not even certain to be on the roster past tonight's wild-card game in Pittsburgh.

But the 23-year-old could — figuratively or literally — steal the Reds a game or two.

He stole a base as a pinch-runner on his first pitch on a big-league field last month, and stole four bases in his first start.

"He's been very good," says Reds GM Walt Jocketty. "He adapted well. He's a fun player to watch."

His chances of being active tonight are good. Because teams can change the makeup of their 25-man active roster for each playoff round — and the wild-card game is a separate round — they'll leave off a couple of starting pitchers anyway.

Should the Reds advance, the debate is revived for the next round on the value of having an electric asset on the bench.

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SOUTHERN SWAGGER

Calling the Atlanta Braves aggressive and free-swinging is an understatement — and not just because their hitters led the NL in home runs and strikeouts.

They're also bent on fighting swagger with swagger of the more traditional variety.

Catcher Brian McCann wouldn't let Milwaukee's Carlos Gomez cross home plate last week after too much of what Gomez later admitted was "pimping" as he celebrated a home run. McCann also confronted Miami rookie pitcher Jose Fernandez over a similar perceived transgression.

And these are the same Braves that got into a bench-clearing confrontation with the Washington National this season that spilled over into the teams' Twitter accounts.

Tough guys? Looking for the respect they might think is lacking for a team that was in first place all but one day this season?

Well, they get Hollywood … er, Los Angeles … in the first round.

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GET ME REWRITE!

The playoff script for the Los Angeles Dodgers — aka Showtime, the Diamond Edition — was supposed to center on the sulking star sitting on the bench.

We can count on plenty of TV time for part-owner Magic Johnson and all the glitz that accompanies a team that went from overpaid chumps to canonized champs without even using a Hollywood image consultant.

They did it with baseball — a 42-8 stretch that decided the National League West — and it's a baseball issue that will define their postseason.

Now, instead of fretting over which outfielder to leave out of his lineup, manager Don Mattingly could be plucking an underdog from his bench.

Matt Kemp will miss the playoffs because of a sprained ankle that he risks breaking if he plays, leaving room for Andre Ethier, Carl Crawford and rookie sensation Yasiel Puig in the outfield. And Andre Ethier's status is iffy for the Thursday's Division Series opener at Atlanta because of nagging shin splints.

"Without saying it in a bad way, we went 42-8 without Matt," Mattingly said. "We're capable of winning. We're not going to roll over."

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CLOSER QUESTIONS

The St. Louis Cardinals and Cleveland Indians aren't sure who their closers are — hardly a soothing situation for teams that were certain almost all season.

Edward Mujica, who despite 37 saves for St. Louis isn't even certain of a roster spot now, suddenly went bad in September, allowing nine runs and 18 hits in seven innings.

For now, fireballing Trevor Rosenthal has the job.

It got so bad for Cleveland's Chris Perez that he recommended a change to manager Terry Francona, who hasn't committed to a full-time replacement but might even use Justin Masterson, the team's top starter much of the season whose late-season oblique injury has him, for now, working in relief.

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TWO TIGERS

Star power is what the Detroit Tigers count on for a repeat trip to the World Series. But do their stars have enough power to get there, let alone win a game this time?

Start with Miguel Cabrera, who finished winning his third consecutive batting championship and posted better overall numbers than in last year's MVP and Triple Crown season.

It's not that Miguel Cabrera you'll see Friday in Oakland. The current version has one home run and just two extra-base hits since Aug. 26 (that's 25 games) thanks to groin, abdomen and hip problems that may be catching up to him.

Manager Jim Leyland didn't rest Cabrera much late in the season though the Tigers had control of the Central Division. Leyland cited fear Cabrera would get rusty at the plate.

But he's already moving like several body parts are in need WD-40.

At least Justin Verlander, Cabrera's predecessor as MVP, seems to be hitting his stride at the right time.

Just 13-12 with a 3.46 ERA that is his highest since 2008, Verlander is back to averaging 94 mph with his fastball. Not the 97-plus of a few years ago, but up from the 92.6 mph earlier this season.

Vintage Verlander isn't necessary, but it could make Detroit unbeatable. In most statistics, Verlander ranked third on his own team — behind Max Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez.

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NAMES TO KNOW

Andrew McCutchen: Equally polished at the plate, in center field and as the face of a revived Pirates franchise, this is his chance to show the rest of the world why insiders see him as the possible NL MVP.

Evan Gattis: It won't even take one of "El Oso Blanco's" prodigious home runs for his tale to be told. He's a 27-year-old rookie who hit 21 homers as a part-timer this year. He also made the big leagues after giving up baseball and wandering the Southwest for four years, working menial jobs and dealing with depression.

Grant Balfour: The Oakland A's honored their Australian closer with a Grant Balfour Ragin' Gnome giveaway this year. With no Mariano Rivera and his Metallica entrance music this year, we'll have to settle for Oakland fans mimicking Balfour's self-directed rage on the mound after he enters to Metallica's One.

Aroldis Chapman vs. Craig Kimbrel: Atlanta's Kimbrel can lay claim to being the game's best closer now that Mariano Rivera has retired. He can send the radar gun reading to triple digits at times but Chapman's fastball averaged 100.11 mph in September.

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