While Red Sox fans may have reason to celebrate the American League East Championship, the home team and denizens of Red Sox Nation must not let their celebratory rush to the field at Fenway Park distract from the road ahead.

Winning the AL East flag means the Sox move into the playoffs on top, instead of as the Wild Card team. But history has shown the Wild Card is no disadvantage for a team in its quest for a World Series championship. Since the Wild Card was instituted in 1995, four Wild Cards teams have won the World Series — including our Sox in 2004.

With the New York Yankees earning a playoff berth as the Wild Card, the Red Sox may need to face off against its familiar foe on the road to the World Series. However, the Sox have shown depth and skill this season, playing quality baseball when the best players were out with injuries, and an impressive rookie class picked up the slack.

Even as star sluggers David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez suffered from ongoing injuries and pitcher Curt Schilling sat out with a battered shoulder for seven weeks, the Sox garnered strong performances from role players. Pitcher Jon Lester, who brought a strong game to his rookie year in 2006 before being diagnosed with cancer, returned to Fenway in July. Rookie Clay Buchholz pitched a no-hitter in his second major league start Sept. 1. With the franchise players now back on the field and strong bench support, the Sox move into the playoffs poised to make a run at the pennant.

Even as Boston fans celebrated the Yankees’ Friday night loss that clinched the AL East for the Sox, the New York team had already punched its ticket to the playoffs last week. The Sox, who missed out on the playoffs last season, face a long battle to the World Series, starting this Wednesday against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Despite having home-field advantage, nothing is certain in a series against the AL West champs who have historically been evenly matched with the Sox. The Angels knocked the Yankees out of the playoffs in the first round in 2002 and 2005, and their pitching is enough to scare anybody in a five-game series.

While it was a special experience to watch our hometown Sox celebrate on the field and with fans Friday, there is still much work to be done. There are 11 more games to be won before the Sox can call themselves World Series champs, and nothing is certain until the last out is made.