Greetings, fellow Mafia members! A mixed bag this week.

First, a comment from, our friend, Bas in Holland. Looking back to Part 5 of An Offer They Couldn’t Refuse, he writes … “Michael Young is now on his fourth team in League 8. He was drafted by Laura [League 8’s commissioner], but she traded him to me for Saito and [Orlando] Cabrera. Four days later, I traded him and Wheeler to Ronan [in Ireland] for Jeter. Just like you wrote, if you are a baseball player in League 8, always keep your suitcase packed!” Don’t worry League 8, we’ll jump back into your ‘blizzard’ of trades in a couple of weeks.

For now, let’s move back over to League 13 where Team One sends Nick Markakis, K-Rod, and Rich Harden to Team Two for Manny Ramirez.

I’m betting that the thought, here, was to use Markakis and Harden to buy an “upgrade” from Francisco Rodriguez to a 1st Round caliber hitter. Even if you drop Harden out of the mix, seeing that he’s of no consequence now anyway, Team One might have been on the right track. The trouble is … Manny Ramirez isn’t that elite of a hitter anymore.

You can accuse me of being too captive to the “grab a great closer” philosophy, but, in my opinion, trading one of the best closers in the game ‘straight-up’ for Manny would have been paying too much. Add Markakis to the swap and Team Two wins this one ‘hands down’.

Next, League 12 gets in on the act with Team One trading away Roy Oswalt and Brian Fuentes to Team Two for Vernon Wells.

At first glance, I would have said that this was way too much to spend in order to secure Mr. Wells’ services. Selected in the 2nd Round of quite a few Mafia keeper league drafts, Vernon has been a big disappointment. With both his power and speed vastly below expectations, and a measly .250 BA, this season, has he really been worth that ‘top of the draft’ investment?

As you dig deeper, you’ll find that Roy Oswalt hasn’t necessarily been himself this year either. Sure, he has 9 Wins and a 3.80 ERA, but his WHIP is uncharacteristically very high at 1.40. Now, we learn that he’s suffering from soreness in his upper chest? He was drafted as a front-line starter. Will he really be able to perform at that level for the balance of the year?

Brian Fuentes’ “Fausto Carmona-like”, pre-All Star Break meltdown is next to legendary at this point, but the truth is, despite his 4.00+ ERA, he’s racked up very solid K/9, K/BB and WHIP ratios on the season. Battling back from a strained rib-cage muscle, Fuentes has a fair shot of reclaiming his closer job upon his return to the Rockies … unless, that is, he’s traded into a middle relief role before the deadline.

Over half of Wells’ HRs have come in the last 31 days. Yet, his BA hasn’t been able to get even close to the .260 mark. Oswalt and Fuentes have uncertain health and/or roles. Clearly, all three of these guys are bigger question marks than we’d expect. In the end, I’ll have to abandon quality for quantity and bank on both Oswalt and Fuentes returning to form. Team Two wins this one ‘by a nose’.

I encourage your comments and critique with regard to these columns. I’d like to make this an interactive feature, so please feel free to register your opinions in the “Trade Feedback: An Offer They Couldn’t Refuse” forum on fantasybaseballmafia.com.