Yankeetorial: It's ludicrous to think tonight's game is all or nothing, right?

Comrades: Close your eyes and repeat after me:

"We are a light year ahead of Boston. They are done, and everybody knows it. We are resting critical players for October, and we have built a comfy-cozy lead. Baltimore will fade. Tampa isn't as strong as they think. We just took three out of four from Texas. We will soon welcome back Arod, Andy and Tex, plus all those major league vets we stashed all season on the NY State Thruway. We are golden. Nothing bad can happen."

Yeah, right. Made you feel sick, didn't it?

If we lose tonight, it's be the second home series we've blown to a team that couldn't beat Minnesota a week ago, a team that's still collapsing from last year, and a lousy team, to boot.

If we lose tonight, we will literally have picked up Boston - Josh Beckett, Teacher's Pet and company - dusted them off, given them water and sent them out to play the last month like it matters.

If we lose tonight, we can't beat the Redsocks... well... it's 2011 all over again... in reverse?

I'm sorry, folks. I understand that everything in paragraph one is true. But all year we've watched this homer-happy team go wet in the crotch with runners in scoring position, and we know what happens when free-swingers wade into the playoffs -- how the Fisters and the Hollands turn us into Russell Branyan and Jack Cust. We've been hoping the Yankees elevate their game - not soil the baselines when it counts.

I'm sorry, folks, but it's too early to grow our playoff beards. We lose tonight, and we're a house of cards.

I know, I know, I know... There's a lot of baseball left to play. That's what scares me.