McAdam: For now, not much more for Red Sox to prove as Indians come to town

The beauty of being better than 50 games over .500 and sitting on top of the second-biggest lead of any division leader is that it takes away any sense of panic in a hurry.

So when the Red Sox lineup was shut down by a steady stream of Tampa Bay Rays pitchers Sunday, resulting in a 2-0 loss, Alex Cora approached the final result as he might following a Grapefruit League loss in early March.

The loss wasn't the intended goal of the afternoon, of course. And no one is suggesting that the Sox aren't competitive or invested in winning every time they take the field.

At the same time, with a record like the one the Red Sox have, it's impossible to get worked up over a single defeat.

What was there to get worked up about? In winning Friday night and again Saturday night, the Red Sox had already assured themselves of winning the series. In fact, they've either won or split every one of their last 13 series in a row. To find the last time the Red Sox had a longer streak than that, you'd have to travel all the way back to 1972.

And winning series is the goal here. Cora notes that with regularity. And when the Sox succeed in winning one -- as they did by winning the second game on Saturday night -- Cora focuses on the bonus of sweeping the series, something they've accomplished 12 times previous.

The Sox fell short of that Sunday, but there was no shame in that. They've displayed a remarkable consistency all season long. Not since late April have the Red Sox suffered a losing streak as "long'' as three games.

All of which has set them for the final six weeks of relative stress-free baseball. The schedule is tougher in terms of opponents, but is heavily weighted toward home games, with just 16 road games remaining, including 15 of the final 21. If anything were at stake, that would be an advantage; this season, it will merely be a convenience.

The arrival of the Cleveland Indians for a four-game series starting Monday might otherwise be seen as a litmus test of sorts. After all, the Indians are about to clinch their third straight division title, got to within an inning of winning the World Series just two Octobers ago and last fall, represented the biggest postseason threat in the American League when the playoffs began, according to the then-bench coach of the Houston Astros.

That bench coach, of course, is now the manager of the Red Sox. But without being disrespectful, Cora doesn't view the Indians as any sort of benchmark for his team. Too many games have been played and too many tests have already been passed for that.

"We really don't get caught up in that,'' said Cora. "Since the big series in Anaheim earlier this season, it seems like every series was something big. Outside the walls of the clubhouse, people were like, 'This is it...this is it.' We don't get caught up in that. Tomorrow is the same -- we'll prepare, we'll go out and play.

"I know (the Indians); I see them. They're in a good situation right now (being the only division-leader with a cushier lead than the Sox). They're very explosive. Their young guys have been in the playoffs already. They have motivation. Their manager does an outstanding job. They know how good they are and I feel like they know how good we are, too. (But) I know my team and I know what we have. I know it's a good team. We respect them, but at the same time, a series is not going to tell me a lot about my team. We know who we are.''

Any suggestion that the Sox would have something to prove went away when Boston swept the Yankees earlier this month. Until then, the narrative had been that the Sox had built their record on the backs of bad teams, but would be challenged by other playoff contenders.

That talk has gone away.

The next six weeks are about staying healthy, determining bullpen roles and providing occasional rest. Some series -- like the one with Cleveland -- will be more interesting than others in that it might offer a potential playoff preview. But it won't mean much in the standings or in the big picture.

The next proving ground won't come until October.