Joel Sherman, who I typically am not crazy about, did an AMAZING job summing up the Cliff Lee trade ordeal today. You can check out the post on Joel Sherman's Hardball blog for the New York Post by clicking here.
The point in the post I agree with the most is Sherman's assertion that teams are overvaluing prospects way too much. Think about it, almost six years ago Mets fans starting salivating at the mouth when they signed a pair of 16 year olds named Fernando Martinez and Deolis Guerra. Today, neither one of those guys has yet to live up to their billing as phenoms. So who's to say a guy like Flores might not hit the same brick wall? The only exception I would make is Mejia.
Also, Sherman makes a great point in that the Mariners are not in the same position the previous two teams were when trading Lee. The Indians needed to dump salary fast and the Phillies felt they couldn't do both Lee and Halladay (why, I have no idea). The Mariners don't need to dump salary and are basically guaranteed two first round picks should they just let Lee walk as a free agent. They also know that the Mets desperately want another ace. So what's the incentive to trade Lee to them for anything less than top talent?
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