After a scramble to finish the regular season, the playoffs are finally on deck. With 10 teams left, here are 10 questions to carry fans through October:CAN THE CUBS DO IT?Joe Maddons crew romped to 103 wins, and now the North Side of Chicago is set up for either the biggest party of all time or the most brutal disappointment ever. Nothing in between for Wrigleyville, really. The pressure wont rattle Jon Lester and John Lackey -- theyve pitched in these spots. Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and the young hitters must handle hopes and expectations that have been building since the Cubs last World Series championship in 1908.WILL KERSHAW COME UP ACES?Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw is all set to pitch Game 1 at Washington. Hes certainly got the pedigree: Cy Young Awards, ERA titles, 20-win seasons and an MVP. What he doesnt have is a winning record in the playoffs -- 2-6. And in his last six starts in the postseason over the past three years, hes 1-5 with a 5.45 ERA, plus a high walk and home run rate. Remember, Hall of Famers Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine had losing career marks in the postseason. But Kershaw could use a couple of wins to round out an otherwise glittering resume.ONE MORE BIG SWING FOR BIG PAPI?David Ortiz had a dream season in his final year -- huge numbers, an MVP candidate, a worst-to-first turnaround by the Red Sox. His likeness has been cut into the grass at Fenway Park, his legacy is etched into history. What the retiring 40-year-old DH really wants is one more ring -- hes won three with Boston and owns a career .455 batting average and .576 on-base percentage in the World Series. He begins these playoffs against former manager Terry Francona and Cleveland.WILL MADBUM STAND TALL?When last seen in the postseason, Madison Bumgarner posted a Giant save to win Game 7 in Kansas City. The 6-foot-5 lefty will try to save San Franciscos season on Wednesday night in the NL wild-card game, on the road vs. the Mets. In 2014, he pitched a shutout at Pittsburgh to win the wild-card game. If he gets to the World Series, watch out -- no one can match his 4-0 mark with one save and an 0.25 ERA.WHOS HURTIN?Stephen Strasburg, Carlos Carrasco and Jacob deGrom are among the injured aces as the playoffs begin. Wilson Ramos, Neil Walker and Michael Brantley are out, too. A few others have been banged up, with Daniel Murphy, Eduardo Nunez and Danny Salazar among them. Its easy to wonder what a team wouldve done with a full roster; this late in the year, as managers often say, its not worth worrying about.WHAT ABOUT THE TRADE-OFFS?In late July 2015, the Royals acquired Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist, and the pair helped them win the crown. A lot of big names moved to contenders this year in midseason -- Carlos Beltran and Jonathan Lucroy to Texas, Matt Moore (Giants), Aroldis Chapman (Cubs), Andrew Miller (Indians), Mark Melancon (Nationals) and Jay Bruce (Mets). Well soon see which trade-deadline guys deliver.WHOS NEW?Orioles slugger Mark Trumbo led the majors with 47 home runs and powered into his first postseason. Red Sox outfielders Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. also get to play for the first time on the big stage. Productive newcomers Trea Turner, Nomar Mazara and T.J. Rivera will join them this week.GOT A BEEF?A bat flip by Jose Bautista last October sparked a wild scene in Toronto, and lingering ill will led to him getting punched this season by Texas Rougned Odor. Just imagine if they meet again this month. Brawls are rare in the playoffs, but they happen -- the Blue Jays, as we got to see, dont take no guff.ANYONE GET SKIPPED?Quite a collection of managers in these playoffs. Some have won the World Series (Bruce Bochy, Francona, John Farrell), others have gotten close (Dusty Baker, Terry Collins). Some have been in the playoffs before (Buck Showalter, Joe Maddon, John Gibbons, Jeff Banister), while Dave Roberts (Dodgers) made it in his first year.STARTER OR RELIEVER?Many of the most-scrutinized decisions this month will involve how managers handle their pitching staffs. Use a starter like Cole Hamels on short rest, or maybe in emergency relief? Push a closer like Kenley Jansen for four outs, or five or six? Four-man rotation or three? With a lot of teams trying to advance farther than theyve been in years -- the Cubs, Indians, Texas and Washington -- get ready to ramp up the second-guessing. Custom New Orleans Pelicans Jerseys . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. 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SALT LAKE CITY -- Kyle Kuzma posted career highs with 23 points and 19 rebounds as Utah defeated Northwest Nazarene 81-37 in its season opener Saturday evening.Utah fans got their first full glimpse of the new-look Utes and their roster consisting of just two legitimate contributors from last season.This morning, I was just extra turned up, Kuzma said. I dont for whatever reason. Its game day.I tried to bring energy. I think that was the biggest thing. When we have energy-givers, then everybody feeds off of that.The Utes struggled mightily for the first 16 minutes of the first half until a 17-3 run basically put the game away after they led 36-20 at halftime. Utah shot under 40 percent most of the first half as the offense seemed to have no real direction.Kuzma started passively, like the rest of the team, but picked up the aggression and finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds in the first half alone. He highlighted the 17-3 stretch with a spinning floater while being fouled. Teammate Tyler Rawson added 13 points.Its a starting point for us, Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. We had guys that tried to push the issue a little bit too much. Didnt trust the offense. We cleaned it up a little bit and got some composure in the second half.Some of its jitters. Got to find some consistency and some roles.Northwest Nazarene, which was playing a back-to-back after defeating Simpson University 92-67 on Friday, shot just 16.4 percent from the field and 1 for 25 from behind the arc. Maurice Jones scored 11 points. The 37 points are the fourth fewest Utah has allowed since 1982.Obviously, we played a team that was much bigger and more talented to their level, Northwest Nazarene coach Scott Flemming said. I never would have thought we would shoot the ball so poorly tonight. We have a really good shooting team. We hit eleven 3s last night against different competition.Even the open looks we got, I think that wass the biggest problem.dddddddddddd Now when youre not making shots, all of the other things kind of are obvious, too -- their rebounding, their size, all those kind of things. It hurts in transition. It still is a good game for us to have.BIG PICTURENorthwest Nazarene: No harm, no foul for the Crusaders. As a Division 2 member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, the loss doesnt count toward their regular-season record. Plus, they have to feel pretty good about the early parts of the first half against a Pac-12 program that has reached the NCAA Tournament the last two seasons.Utah: Theres lots of work to do for a Utah team with just two returners having played significant minutes. The offense had no flow for much of the game outside of the spurts when Kuzma took over. The defensive intensity came and went. The Utes must improve before Pac-12 play or they will live up (or down) to their preseason pick of finishing No. 8 in the league.SHORT STAFFEDUtah will be without newcomers David Collette and Sedrick Barefield until the Utes play face Prairie View A&M on Dec. 17. The two will miss the first eight games due to transfer rules, but are expected to be starters once they return. Sophomore Parker Van Dyke, freshman Devon Daniels and redshirt freshman Jayce Johnson started alongside returning starters Kuzma and Lorenzo Bonam.BALL CONTROLThe Utes had 19 turnovers, including seven from Bonam, who had six at halftime. Krystkowiak said the goal was 12. Bonam struggled all around with just five points and going 0 for 4 after making his first basket.UP NEXTNorthwest Nazarene: The Crusaders face Portland Bible in Caldwell, Idaho, in the Taco Bell Shootout.Utah: The Utes host Concordia on Tuesday and Coppin State on Friday as they open the season with three games in six days. ' ' '
