And now the real work begins

So, are you past your celebratory hangover yet?

Good.

Because now is when the real work begins.

Okay, so the Yankees can put out a lineup today of Hinske, Hairston, Peña, Duncan, Cervelli and all other manner of scrub, but even that has a purpose.

Now that the Yankees have more or less done everything in the regular season that they could possibly do, the task becomes doing everything possible to win in the postseason. This includes giving the regulars some time off--not too much so they lose their stroke, but enough that they are suitably rested.

The Yanks' first round opponent will almost certainly be either the Tigers or the Twins, but fans should be a little wary--the Yankees' success against these teams this season doesn't guarantee wins in October. As 2006 and 2007 can attest, regular season success means little. At any rate, despite the 5-1 record against the Tigers and 7-0 record against the Twins, many of those games were close--three against the Twins close enough to be won on walk-off hits--meaning that those games could have easily gone the other way.

The Yankees right now are in the best possible place that a baseball team can be on September 28, but their work is far from done.

Some will argue that it is only just beginning.