2011 MLB Playoff Predictions: No Cliff Lee Will Keep Rangers from World Series

Think back one year and remember the American League Championship Series. Would the Rangers have defeated the Yankees without Cliff Lee?

Yes, he only won one game, but it's not likely.

Now, the bats are largely the same, although Adrian Beltre has been added. But without Cliff Lee, the battle is going to be uphill.

Who is going to step up and match arms with C.C. Sabathia or Justin Verlander in Game 1 or Game 5? If those two games are conceded losses, then the battle is extremely tough. 

It's not that C.J. Wilson is a bad pitcher, but those matchups will not bode well for the Rangers. After that, the pitching rotations can go in a number of different directions. Still, the matchups would appear to favor either Detroit or New York.

The Rangers are a fine team. Their lineup is extremely tough to beat, but that rarely carries teams in playoff series'. Plus, it's not like the Yankees or Tigers would be exactly empty with the bats.

There is a lot to cheer for with the Rangers. For one, they haven't won a World Series in the franchise's existence. That covers a lot of years.

Two, it's always nice to see a team lose one year and win the next. Resiliency is one of the greatest signs of a great athlete or great team.

Resiliency is one thing, but losing your best starting pitcher will go a long way to counter anyone's resiliency. In the playoffs, pitching is king.

Losing your best pitcher, especially one as good as Lee, is going to be a crippling thing. The Rangers have adequate pitchers, but they lack someone with the ability to step up against the other team's aces.

Verlander and Sabathia are just too good. Lee could stand up to them and put his team in a better situation.

The loss of Lee will put the Rangers' bats in a tough spot. They will need to hit and hit a lot. In the playoffs, that just generally doesn't work over the length of a seven-game series.

The Rangers are good, but they are a pitcher away from a World Series appearance.