McAdam: On their way to the World Series, Red Sox intent on making their point

HOUSTON -- It would be impossible -- or at the very least foolhardy -- to cast the team with the game's largest payroll, the team with nearly endless resources and advantages, as some sort of baseball underdog.

But in the aftermath of their American League Championship Series victory over the Houston Astros on Thursday night, it could be correctly said that the Red Sox have been playing with an edge all October long.

For a team that was very good indeed, it seemed like they were never good enough for some.

When people suggested that their record-setting regular season record was somehow fraudulent, they took note.

When they heard about inflating their record on the backs of a lot of lousy teams in their division and throughout the American League, they let it register. And all that talk of compiling a losing record against the other playoff teams?  That, too.

Finally, when it was suggested that they didn't have the ability to get past either the New York Yankees or Houston Astros, they heard.

And so, as they sprayed each other with celebration and hugged one another in the Minute Maid Park clubhouse, it was obvious that they had used all of it to their advantage.

"A lot of people didn't think we would get by the Yankees,'' noted reliever Matt Barnes after the Red Sox dethroned the world champions 4-1, to win the ALCS in five games. "Then, a lot of people didn't think we would get by the Astros. For an 108-win team, that was kind of strange for us to hear. And I don't want to necessarily say that we played with a chip on our shoulder because of that. But maybe we played with a bit of an edge.''

It's almost customary now for teams to utter: "No one gave us a chance.'' Heck, if the 1927 Yankees existed present day, they might cloak themselves as upstarts who never were given the proper credit and managed to win only because they used the perceived slights as motivation. The same with the dynastic Celtics teams of the 1960s: would they recast their 11th championship in 13 seasons as some sort of "we had to prove our critics wrong'' rallying cry?

Some of that talk, truthfully, can be hard to take.

But with these Red Sox, you can understand, at least somewhat, playing the disrespect card.

They led the American League East for most of the season. In fact, they led every single day from July 2 until the conclusion of the season. They clinched the division with a few weeks to spare.

They never trailed in the ALDS, but when they lost Game 2, it felt like the end of the world. Except the Sox busted narrative to pieces by going into Yankee Stadium and winning two games, one by a margin of 15 runs.

After they dropped the opener of the ALCS, the talk re-started. Finally, they had reached the end of the line. Surely, they would be no match for the world champion Astros. But then the Sox got even at home, and ran the table the rest of the way, winning three straight on the home field of a team which had been 10-1 at home since the start of last postseason.

Even with their gaudy win total, they never pretended to be perfect. They had their flaws, most obviously in the bullpen. But they were damn good for a long time and during the postseason, they never blinked.

And to be 5-0 away from Fenway through the first two rounds, they demonstrated something about their makeup, about their mental toughness.

It's too soon -- franchise-setting win totals aside -- to cast them as the greatest Red Sox team ever. To even start that conversation, they'll have to win four more games against either the Los Angeles Dodgers or Milwaukee Brewers in the next two weeks. Then, and only then, can that debate even start.

But it's not too soon to suggest that their achievements have been underappreciated, that, so far, they've done everything that's been asked of them.

They've taken on all comers, won series against two 100-win teams, and won both rounds on the road without losing so much as a game.

Any way you look at it, that's impressive -- even if it's not yet enough to satisfy everyone.

"They can keep talking,'' said Rick Porcello. "We're just going to keep playing.''