What Every Potential Playoff Team Has to Do to Win the World Series

Except for the American League West, we have a pretty good idea of which teams are headed to the postseason.

As we've seen over the last few years, if a team can get into the playoffs it has a chance to win a championship regardless of what happened in the regular season. This list looks at what each of those teams needs to do in order to bring a World Series title to its organization.

Los Angeles Angels

The Angels are only 2.5 games behind the Texas Rangers and they host Texas for the final three games of the season.

They have a manageable schedule the rest of the way (three vs. NYY, three at OAK, three at BAL, four at TOR, three vs. OAK, three vs. TEX) and should certainly be in striking distance come the final season series.

It they do make the playoffs, they need to do two things to win the World Series:

1. They need to steal one run a game. Whether it be by stealing bases, bunting, hitting and running, they need to find a way to score a run by being aggressive.

2. They can’t give up any runs with defensive lapses. They only average four runs per game and for the past decade they have been successful by catching the baseball.

They are only middle of the pack this year, but if they hope to make a run at a title that needs to change come October. They have the pitching to win it all (best ERA in the AL), but they need to find a way to steal one run per game and not give away any runs in the playoffs to have a chance.

Texas Rangers

The current AL West leaders have a slightly tougher road than the Angels the rest of the way (vs. CLE, at LAA), but if they hold on to win the division they will have a real chance to win the World Series.

The most important thing for the Rangers is to maintain their offensive output. They currently score 5.1 runs per game and they can’t afford to let that dip in the postseason.

They only have one truly reliable starter (C.J. Wilson: 15-6, 3.13 ERA) in the starting rotation and their bullpen has the third worst ERA in the MLB. They can’t rely on the pitching staff to shutdown opposing offenses, especially when they play either Boston or New York in the first round, so they are going to have to outscore people.

Usually five or six runs is good enough to win in the playoffs, but that should be the Rangers’ minimum goal every game if they want any chance at getting back to the World Series and finishing the job this year.

Arizona Diamondbacks

With a seven-game lead in the NL West, you have to think the D’Backs are going to make the playoffs. They are, surprisingly, fourth in the NL in runs scored and first among the projected playoff teams. However, they are last of those projected playoff teams in pitching and 10th overall in ERA and they have a well-below-average bullpen.

Of all the playoff teams I think Arizona has the longest odds to win the World Series, but if it is going to do it it must cash in with runners on base. The Diamondbacks are currently second in the NL in home runs with runners on and that has to continue come October if they hope to have any chance of winning a title.

They currently only have one player with more than 20 HRs (Justin Upton) and they don’t hit them often, but they have to make them count when they do. Arizona doesn’t really do anything at an elite level so it needs timely hitting and three-run bombs versus solo shots if it has any hopes of winning a championship.

Detroit Tigers

I don’t care what anyone says: Justin Verlander has to at be strongly considered for AL MVP.

The Tigers are a .500 team when he doesn’t pitch and 19 games over when he does. He leads the AL in wins, innings pitched, ERA, strikeouts and WHIP. He is the only “must-see” pitcher in baseball right now and has carried an otherwise-pedestrian pitching staff all year.

Detroit’s formula for the playoffs is quite simple. It has to win every time Verlander pitches. That is really its only shot at postseason success. If he wins three times in a seven-game series, the Tigers only have to win one of the other four games and even the mediocre Tigers can do that.

If they give away Verlander starts, they are in deep, deep trouble in October and I don’t see how they get out of the first round. Just get him four runs and let him go to work. Then pray for rainouts until he’s good to go again.

Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers don’t do any one thing particularly great, but they also don’t do anything terribly bad. They have a deep starting rotation (Gallardo, Greinke, Marcum, Wolf) and the best 3-4 hitters in the National League.

If they win the World Series it will be with balance. They don’t need to score eight runs per game or throw shutouts to win. They can win 5-3 very easily and be fine. Their starting rotation can go toe-to-toe with anyone in the NL and they need to take advantage of that pitching depth.

Finally, Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun can’t go into slumps. They both need to continue their regular season dominance in the playoffs. They don’t have to do anything special in the postseason, just maintain what they’ve been doing all season and, along with the starting pitching, that should be plenty to give them a chance to win the World Series.

Atlanta Braves

Though they’ve slipped a bit lately, the Braves still have a magnificent bullpen. Their goal should be to make every game six innings. If they can get the lead going into the seventh inning with Jonny Venters, Eric O’Flaherty and Craig Kimbrel lurking in the bullpen they have to like their chances.

Atlanta is going to struggle more than any other playoff team to score runs so it can’t afford to give any away. Fortunately, the Braves have a pitching staff that can shut even the best offenses down on a nightly basis and they are going to have to do just that if they hope to win a title.

Also, if they could somehow get Jason Heyward back from the Witness Protection Program it would be highly beneficial. His .224 average with 116 strikeouts and only 13 home runs isn’t helping anybody.

Boston Red Sox

The good news is they have two starting pitchers that are having great years in Josh Beckett and Jon Lester and Beckett’s injury doesn’t seem too serious. The bad news is John Lackey and Tim Wakefield have thrown the third- and fourth-most innings for the Red Sox and they have ERAs of 6.11 and 5.03, respectively. One of them is getting thrown out there for a playoff game and maybe even both of them at some point (every Boston fan just did a double take).

They have the best offense in the league (more versatile than the Yankees) and have a maniacal closer that is quietly have a great season—29 saves, 2.75 ERA for Jonathan Papelbon. The key for the Red Sox is to keep being the best offense in the league and avoid John Lackey starts at all costs. Make sure Beckett and Lester get run support so you can take advantage of their quality starts.

If Boston can get a 2-0 series lead, it can afford to throw Lackey or Wakefield to the wolves, but if Boston is tied 1-1 in a series and it has to march either one of those starters out there, it won’t be feeling too good about its World Series chances.

If the front of the Boston rotation and the lineup perform to expectations, they have a great chance to win the title. If either of those units falters, they could be in trouble this October and simply making the playoffs isn’t good enough in New England anymore.

New York Yankees

Much like the Detroit Tigers have relied on Verlander, the Bronx Bombers have relied heavily on CC Sabathia to carry the starting rotation this season. They need to win virtually every Sabathia start in the postseason so they don’t have their playoff lives hanging on the arms of Freddy Garcia, A.J. Burnett and Bartolo Colon.

The Yankees have been winning this year by outscoring everyone and hitting the ball out of the ballpark (200 team HRs), but that isn’t typically a formula for success in October. Surprisingly, New York is third in the league in steals and it should continue the aggressive base running in the playoffs to maintain its current run production.

Ultimately, Sabathia can’t lose if the Yankees want to win a World Series, and even if Sabathia dominates, they still need to score six runs per game in the American League. The offense has to carry them in the playoffs or they are totally screwed and they need Ivan Nova to continue pitching well.

If both those things happen, they can win the World Series. If they don’t, the Boss will be rolling over in his grave looking for people to fire.

Philadelphia Phillies

Since the Hunter Pence trade the offense has been a lot better, but the pitching staff is still the driving force for Philly. The Phillies have four pitchers with an ERA under 2.70 (Lee, Halladay, Hamels, Worley) and Roy Oswalt, who is at a respectable 3.72.

They have to be the favorites to win the championship and their biggest obstacle is going to be overcoming their offensive woes. They have one former MVP performing way below expectations in Jimmy Rollins and they’ll need at least him —as well as Utley—to turn things around if they don’t want to be eliminated early in October again.

The Phillies' goal should be four runs per game. If they can get to four with their pitching staff, they will live with the result. If Ryan Howard starts leaving runners stranded and striking out every other at-bat, it could be a short postseason in Philadelphia.