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Viva Murillo!

You want to know why it pays to work the waiver wire? Derrick Ward. Kenton Keith. Andre Davis in a point-per-reception league. Maybe Andre Davis in just about any league.

You know how important the waiver wire is if you’re not happy with your record and want to improve your roster. The flip side to injuries is a lot of startable talent on the waiver wire. But a common mistake winning teams make (especially undefeated ones) is not paying enough attention that talent. Even if you think you’re paying attention, you’re probably not.

It’s natural, really. You like your players and they’re playing well. You’ll always take a look to see if you can improve your depth, but like Rocky in “Rocky III” (before the beach scene but after the part where Paulie smashes the pinball machine) you lose a little focus when things are going well. Next thing you know, good players are going right past you.

Not so fast, you say. You do pay attention, but even if you don’t put in a request for everyone, it doesn’t matter. You’re winning, so you have no shot at the best guys. Your waiver priority guarantees that you’re looking at backup kickers or a tight end nobody wants. What’s the point?

Well, there are two points. One, never assume that a guy is going to get picked up. Maybe other owners aren’t paying as much attention, or they have other holes to fix, or bye weeks to address first. Maybe they don’t have the roster space for a flyer or don’t like the guy as much as you do. Just last week I had a list of guys I wanted on the waiver wire in one league, and I got my top two guys even though my priority was near the end. I don’t play with idiots or a league full of guys who don’t pay attention, either; they just liked other guys better. The moral of the story is, you can’t win if you don’t play.

The second point is a little more complicated. Sure, you might miss out on guys you want because you’re too high up to get them. But what’s stopping you from contacting the teams on the bottom and working out a trade for a guy they don’t even have yet? You can agree to a deal, have them use their priority and ship the guy to you. If you do that, you can still get the guy you want. But even if you don’t, you’ve alerted the bottom-feeder about a good player out there ... and that keeps him away from the mid-range teams who are challenging you for a playoff spot. Even if the 0-5 team keeps the guy, the 2-3 team won’t get him, either. You just hurt an opponent with an e-mail.

Even if we’re talking about one-or-two week fill-ins that you don’t need, you should still try to get them. Whatever you have, your opponents can’t start. And while you think you only have one opponent each week, you really have 11 (or however many other owners there are in the league). One good player on the waiver wire could give somebody an extra win, and that win could force a tie in the standings with you, and you could lose a tie-breaker ... and it costs you a playoff spot. All because you let your guard down just a little.

I’m sure this isn’t a revelation to you, and I’m stating some obvious things here. But to be honest, I think that’s kind of my job. Ian Allan gives you the info you need to start the right guys, and Andy Richardson provides interesting insight from watching the weekly contests (while he celebrates Brett Favre’s renaissance. Don’t let Richardson’s low-key approach to No. 4’s season fool you. He has a league named after the guy). I try to remind you of things you already know, like that light that tells you to change the oil or the low-battery warning in the smoke alarm. It’s not ground-breaking, but it might make you a little more alert. More than your opponents, anyway.

So I encourage you to use the waiver wire every week, regardless of your record. If you have dead weight, cut it for a productive guy, even if you don’t need him -- because somebody else does, and that someone is your enemy. Good luck this week.

Feel free to share your waiver wire success stories below. You can also reach Michael Murillo at vivamurillo@gmail.com.

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