Forgetting, for the moment, Justin Verlander’s performance in Game 1 of the World Series, one of the things a Series-bound team is supposed to have is an ace.

The top teams need that one guy whom you absolutely want to hand the ball to in the biggest games. For the Tigers, of course, that’s Verlander. For the Giants, it’s Matt Cain. For the Yankees, it’s CC Sabathia.

So that raises the question in regard to the Orioles. They didn’t really have one this season. For a while, it looked like it could be Jason Hammel, then he got hurt. For a while, it looked like it could be Wei-Yin Chen, then he couldn’t win a game.

Will the O’s have an ace next season? Will Hammel return to the form he showed before he was hurt? Will Chen pitch consistently through the season, instead of mixing in clunkers as he did late in the year?

There is also the matter of whether you really need an ace. Think of it the same way some people say you need an elite quarterback to win a Super Bowl. Hey, much respect to Trent Dilfer, but Baltimore fans know that truism isn’t quite true.

So if you just get effective starting pitching without an outstanding No. 1, that could work — five Trent Dilfers, as it were. But if someone steps up and grabs the ace’s role, so much the better.