Cliff Lee should just stop unpacking. With yesterday’s trade to Texas, Lee will now pitch for his fourth team in the last two seasons. The Mariners are clearly waving the white flag, which is obvious by the fact that they traded Lee before the break and even more so because they traded their best pitcher to a team in their own division. When it’s all said and done, 2010 will only be a disappointing season for the Mariners and their fans.

Lee was 8-3 with a 2.34 ERA as a Mariner. He completed five games, including three in a row in June, with a shutout for good measure. In 103 2/3 innings pitched, he struck out 89 with a miniscule six walks and a 0.95 WHIP. You can’t argue that he didn’t do his part in helping Seattle win games. He’s well on his way to having the best year of his career, and that includes his 22-3 mark in Cleveland in 2008. Now that he’s a Texas Ranger; a team tremendously more capable of scoring, his numbers should get even better.

He was supposed to be part of Seattle’s revamped lineup that was going to get them into a playoff race, but when the Mariners woke up and found themselves on an extended losing streak and essentially out of the playoff picture before the All-Star break, Lee had to be moved. The Mariners should now go into full rebuild mode to evaluate where they really are as an organization and where they want to go. A quick fix is not an option.

Lee on the other hand is a free agent again after this season, and it’s just as likely as not that he’ll move once more. The same suitors interested in him this past week – Yankees, Phillies, Twins – will probably be in on the Cy Young Award winner. The Mariners on the other hand picked up Justin Smoak, so not all is lost on their end, but Smoak won’t make a full impact for the team by himself. Seattle still has a lot of work to do to become the team they wanted to be in 2010.