There hasn't been any drama surrounding the Boston Red Sox for a while. The Texas Rangers made sure of that.

Even while the Sox suffered through the indignity of watching their rivals celebrate a division title after a three-game sweep, they lowered their magic number for the wild card as the Rangers blew a late 5-0 lead Sunday.

That's why Casey Kotchman got lots of playing time last weekend. And Rocco Baldelli. And Jed Lowrie.

Manager Terry Francona filled out his lineup card for the long haul in New York, not for the clinching moment. The division was out of hand, the wild card inevitable.

So, after three straight losses in New York, the Sox should get to celebrate clinching the wild card in the comfort of their own home.

They will finish second in the division for the fifth time in seven years, but it's all about qualifying for the postseason. How you get there is irrelevant.

The question is, how will the Red Sox do once they get there? After a 5-5 road trip, it was a legitimate question. While the Sox have played very well down the stretch, they have not had many chances to test themselves against the mettle of the American League.

After the Yankees' sweep, Boston was 15-10 in the month of September. Of those 25 games, only six were against teams within eight games of a playoff spot. Their record in those games was 2-4.

Obviously, you can't blame a team for its schedule, but fattening up on the likes of Baltimore and Kansas City doesn't mean you'll be ready to go when the stakes get higher.

The schedule has been weak for a while. The Sox were 16-12 in August, 5-9 against teams currently within eight games of a playoff spot.

Another concern is the team's lack of success away from Fenway Park. The Red Sox wrapped up their road schedule over the weekend, finishing 39-42.

It is an identical road record to the 2008 team and marks the third time in four years the Sox were a below .500 team on the road.

Over the past two months, the Sox are 1-9 against the group of opponents within eight games of a playoff spot when playing them on the road.

This is pertinent because the Sox will head to Anaheim for the first two games of the postseason and, as the wild card team, they would not have home-field advantage in a potential AL Championship Series, either.

Of course, good teams learn to win when it matters most, at home and on the road. The Red Sox are a good team – a very good team.

They have a deep rotation, especially now that Daisuke Matsuzaka and Clay Buchholz have begun to throw strikes consistently. They have a bullpen that is the envy of teams around the game, and they have a lineup that since the acquisition of Victor Martinez on July 31 has been in the top two in the major leagues in runs, batting average and home runs.

All of that should give Red Sox fans cause for optimism, even though they haven't had a chance to see Boston play against the best teams.

What they have seen, such as the series against the Yankees last weekend, might leave them a little skittish next week.

Tom Caron is the studio host for Red Sox broadcasts on the New England Sports Network. His column appears in the Press Herald on Tuesdays.