By Bob in Cleveland

League 4

Here we are. Smack dab in the “dog days of summer”. Dog days of summer. What the heck does that even mean, anyway? According to Wikipedia, this well-worn “phrase … refers to the hottest, most sultry days of summer. They are a phenomenon of the northern hemisphere that usually falls between early July and early September …” Yep. These are the “dog days”. But they’re not the dog days of the fantasy baseball season. At least they better not be …

You see, if you keep reading the ‘Wiki’, you’d learn that “Dog Days can also define a time period or event that is … stagnant or marked by [a] dull lack of progress.” Stagnant? Lack of progress? Now? Just mere weeks before trading deadlines come crashing down on every fantasy baseball owner on the planet? I should hope not.

Fellow Mafia members, NOW is the time to get busy. Stir it up! If you’re in the race, decide what you need to do in order to capture that elusive flag.  Read your categories. In the end, that is the heartbeat of your league. Where can you gain points and attack the standings? Where might you need to be defensive and protect a position within a certain category? First, target the statistics you want to attack. Then, target the players you want to acquire.

Whether you’re in a Mafia league or not, you know how hard it is to win a championship. You can’t squander an opportunity. If you have a chance to triumph now, you MUST take the shot. The baseball ‘gods’ are fickle. You never know when you’ll be in a competitive position again. Be aggressive. Don’t get caught short at the end of the year only to spend your off-season regretting a 2nd place finish.

Now, in truth, I’m not the most aggressive trader in the world. In fact, I’m tremendously conservative. I happen to win my leagues, mainly, by working the free agent list. At times, however, I’ll sprinkle in a few small, low impact, trades. Think George Sherrill for Adam Wainwright. Or Carlos Gomez for Mike Lowell. Hideki Matsui for James Shields.

Those trades are more my style, but even I, feeling that I have a chance to win a title, can pull the trigger on a blockbuster. Even if it means that I have to trade top flight talent. Think Matt Holliday … my best and favorite player. It can hurt, but the moral of the story is this: you need to do whatever it is that you need to do. In the case of Holliday, it took the better part of two months to convince me that this year’s title shot was worth more than next year’s keeper list.

And what about those of you who are out of this year’s hunt? If you’re in a Mafia, or even non-Mafia, keeper league, what better opportunity can you possibly have to pad next year’s keeper list? Now is the perfect time to rake contending teams ‘over the coals’.

If you listen to “Inside the Trader’s Studio”, co-hosted by Gabriel Lundeen and myself - download it at iTunes, you’ll already know that some Mafia stalwarts, like Tony in Hitchin, are busy packing their 2009 rosters with talent. Wouldn’t you love to add Matt Holliday and Chase Utley to a core that already includes Ryan Braun and Carl Crawford?  Tony has.

The time is now, my friends. Trade. Then trade again. And when you’re done, report your trades to “Inside the Trader’s Studio” at tradersstudio@fantasybaseballmafia.com. Let’s prove to the fantasy baseball world that the Fantasy Baseball Mafia is where to find THE competition. Here is where they’ll find ALL of the activity and trades. Make your trades and, then, let us advertise them.

There are only a few weeks left, Mafia. Get a move on it! Hey! What are you doing reading this? Go make a trade!