By Nick Carroll

I consider myself a very knowledgeable sports fan. I understand why certain moves are made and generally try to be fair to those making decisions. But looking back at the Cliff Lee trade, I cannot consider it anything but a disaster.

I’ll even take Ruben Amaro at his word, unlike most fans these days, and assume that this trade was made solely to re-stock the farm system. I do not see how anyone can justify trading a proven ace, a guy who just proved his worth on the biggest stage, in the brightest lights and under the most pressure and not get an elite prospect in return.

I realize that hindsight is 20/20 and that it is easy to rip into the struggling prospects we received in return for Lee, but it’s not like they were that highly touted to begin with. Only pitcher Philippe Aumont made Baseball America’s top 100 prospects coming into the season,and did so narrowly, coming in at No. 93. To put this in perspective,catcher Travis D’Arnaud came in at No. 81, and he was the third best player the Phillies gave up for Roy Halladay (pitcher Kyle Drabek was 25 and outfielder Michael Taylor was 29).

As great as Halladay is, the difference between he and Lee is not nearly that significant,and apparently the Texas Rangers agree. Today the Rangers shipped off switch-hitting first baseman Justin Smoak to Seattle along with three other prospects to acquire Lee. Now, to be fair, the Rangers paid a steep price. But they were not the only team willing to do so as the Yankees were reportedly offering catcher Jesus Montero (if you’re wondering, Montero and Smoak were ranked Nos. 4 and 13 respectively on BA’s pre-season top 100).

Basically, we traded Lee for 10 cents on the dollar. The Phillies got ripped off. I try to be reasonable about this but it was a terrible trade. After acquiring Halladay, Amaro rushed the Lee trade, failed to do his due diligence,and took one hard off the chin. If you want to re-stock the farm system, get prospects at the caliber that would at least slightly offset the hit the Phils took on the Halladay trade; Amaro did not.The Phillies could have gotten one of these top-notch prospects, but instead walked away with nothing. Also, keep in mind these teams offered these prospects for a half-season rental of Lee; when the Phillies traded him it was for a full season.

I have heard some people support Amaro’s decision and deal, trying to quiet the many critics. But, if people are sick of fans complaining about the Lee trade, give them a legitimate reason to stop. There is no upside to that trade, not in the future and definitely not now. The Phillies’ issues may revolve around hitting, but it wouldn’t hurt having Lee around.

As a blue-collar,strike throwing machine who seemed as down-to-earth as professional athletes come these days, Lee became an instant fan favorite. It is more than understandable for fans to complain about and regret the Lee trade, even now, months later (and for the record, fans have the right to continue complaining for years to come; the Lee trade has the potential to join the trades of Ferguson Jenkins and Ryne Sandberg in previous decades).

It really is bigger than this, too. Not to blow this out to dramatic, LeBronian proportions, but it really makes me question the roster management of Amaro and Pat Gillick. I know it may sound sacrilegious since they helped bring a championship back to Philadelphia, but I believe it is very short-sighted to give Gillick and Amaro all of the credit.

Now, I do not work inside the organization and am not totally familiar with how everything works, but all we have heard for years was that Mike Arbuckle was the mastermind behind the farm system that produced Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Cole Hamels and many more.

What we know about Gillick is that he traded Bobby Abreu for NOTHING. Like, really,nothing. Oh, and he threw in Cory Lidle, too. I know it is old news,but this is still a terrible trade. Was Gillick responsible for the title or did he just have impeccable timing? Either way, I’m not complaining, but it leads into my prosing of his protégé.

I will give Amaro credit for the Lee trade. The Phillies took advantage of Cleveland(then again, who doesn’t) and it paved the way to winning the pennant. But, in retrospect, the Phillies could have (and should have) done things differently.

If the team really wanted Halladay, the trade the team made in December was also on the table in July; however, Amaro balked. The Phillies could havec onceivably had both last season, but messed it up.

Or, if they did not want to gut the system, just make the Halladay trade. As bad as the Lee trade was for Cleveland, the deal the Phils made with Seattle was even worse.

But it goes deeper than that. Amaro handed Ryan Howard a contract that has the potential to weigh this team down for years (before negotiations were even necessary), the bench and bullpen have not been improved, it is becoming difficult not to question the GM.

Inexperienced GMs will make mistakes and Amaro is making his fair share, but it make sme wonder whether Arbuckle was really the brains behind the operation.

Even if the organization has promising principles, such as dedication to the farm system, is Amaro capable of balancing this dedication while trying to win now? So far, there is not a clear cut answer, but the Lee mess will haunt this organization for years to come.