Add the name Cliff Lee to the list of All-Stars  who once played for the Seattle Mariners. The perennial losers from Seattle, the hapless Mariners (12 winning seasons in 33 seasons of existence, four playoff appearances, one of only three teams to never play in the World Series, no players in the Hall of Fame as a Mariner), today traded away Cliff Lee, their All-Star pitcher for a 1st baseman currently hitting .209 and three minor league players, one of whom once faced a rape charge. 

The Mariners gambled when they acquired Cliff Lee in the off-season, hoping that he would help lead the team back to the playoffs for the first time  since 2001, but with the team mired dead last in the division, Mariners management decided to trade him away for prospects that they hope will pan out for the future. 

For those hopeful fans who follow the Mariners, this is a stark reminder of all the talent that the team has traded, or allowed to walk  away, in the past: Dave Henderson, Mark Langston (actually, a pretty good deal this one!), Alex Rodriguez, Randy Johnson, Freddy Garcia, Carlos Guillen, Omar Vizquel, Raoul Ibanez, Mike Cameron, Jamie Moyer, and Ken Griffey Jr., to name only the some of the biggest names to leave.

Read more at:

http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/news/story?id=5367615

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/10/sports/baseball/10kepner.html