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CLEVELAND -- For months, theyve been ignored, overlooked and mostly dismissed.The Cleveland Indians werent supposed to be playing in October and yet here they are: AL Central champions with a chance to end a World Series drought approaching its 68th anniversary.While many baseball fans remain fixated on the Chicago Cubs, those lovable losers trying to rewrite baseball history, the Indians have quietly overcome injuries to put themselves in position to bring another championship to Cleveland, a city still giddy after LeBron James and the Cavaliers won an NBA title this summer.We dont mind if we have to play the underdog, said second baseman Jason Kipnis. We dont mind if we have to take people by surprise. We know what kind of team weve got here and the kind of organization we have here -- and were pretty happy with whats going on.The Indians have defined resiliency this season. They played all but 11 games without star outfielder Michael Brantley and didnt have starting catcher Yan Gomes for most of the year. Cleveland lost starters Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar down the stretch to injuries and wont have them in the postseason. But the Indians cleared the obstacles thrown at them, motivated by the guidance of manager Terry Francona.With unexpected contributions from players like Jose Ramirez, Mike Napoli and Rajai Davis, the continued rise of star shortstop Francisco Lindor and a lights-out bullpen, they grabbed the division lead in June, reeled off a 14-game winning streak and never looked back, dominating rival Detroit and dethroning the defending champion Kansas City Royals, who finished 13 1/2 games behind Cleveland.It didnt go according to plan, but when does it ever? And as they prepare to take on the Boston Red Sox in the best-of-five division series starting Thursday, the Indians, who have craved the spotlight for years, are again being given little chance to advance.Kipnis and his teammates have grown accustomed to a lack of respect nationally.Its Cleveland, he said. Its a smaller market and people tend to forget that. Its OK if were not the favorite. Weve been proving people wrong all year. We have plenty of people who believe in us.On Tuesday, the Indians arrived at Progressive Field and were greeted in their clubhouse by boxes filled with new cleats and some cold-weather gear. They wont need any layering in Games 1 and 2 with temperatures expected to be in the 70s for the first pitch.But although theyve made it to October, the narrative has yet to change on the Indians, and thats just fine with them.We havent been a popular pick all year long, said the fun-loving Lindor, who plays with an infectious passion. Thats OK. We believe in each other.That confidence comes from Francona, who leads the Indians flock of faithful.From the outset of training camp, Francona, who guided the Red Sox to their first World Series title in 86 years in 2004 and then added another three years later, has instilled confidence in his players. By using his entire 25-man roster -- and then some -- hes developed a group that values depth and understands it takes everyone doing their share.That was apparent when the Indians ripped off 14 wins in a row from June 17 to July 2. There was a different hero every game, and the stretch climaxed with a 19-inning victory in Toronto.Francona pulled out all the stops in that 2-1 win, even using Game 1 starter Trevor Bauer in relief for five shutout innings. The victory sapped the Indians, but the more-than-two-week winning streak also bonded them.Winning breeds confidence, Kipnis said. That kind of laid the foundation for the season and the team that we are today. It needs to be all hands on deck for us to win and well be good if we do that.The streak began as the Cavs were rallying from a 3-1 deficit in the finals to beat Golden State and give Cleveland its first major sports championship since 1964.On June 17, hours before the Cavs would win Game 7 on the road, fans in Progressive Field alternated chants of Lets Go Indians with Lets Go Cavs during Clevelands 3-2 win in 10 innings over the Chicago White Sox.Kipnis said the Indians fed off the citys energy.It gave positive vibes around the stadium and gave positive vibes to the fans, he said of the Cavs championship run. Everyone was in a better mood. The sun was shining. There was no longer that dark cloud over Cleveland. LeBron didnt throw any shutouts for us or hit any home runs, but at the same time, the Cavs winning it all it took that pressure away of bringing home the first title.A second one might not be that far away. 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Jordan Siev, a lawyer for Rodriguez, wrote in a joint letter to the judge from lawyers on both sides that MLB lawyers planned to ask that the lawsuit be dismissed. In the seventh inning of Game 1 of the World Series, Indians reliever?Andrew Miller found himself in a pot of boiling water. Entrusted to hold a 3-0 lead over the Cubs after starter Corey Kluber gave up a leadoff single, Miller walked the next batter, Kyle Schwarber, and then gave up a single to Javier Baez to load the bases with nobody out. And baseball, as it so often does when the leaves change, turned from untroubled to high stress, a pitch-by-pitch Western showdown.Suddenly, quite possibly the entire World Series was at stake. Kluber had cruised, had thrown only 88 pitches, but thinking ahead, Cleveland manager Terry Francona gambled: Miller was so good, so reliable -- even though he hadnt pitched in nearly a week -- that Francona could remove his ace in a must-win Game 1 against the favored Cubs to give Kluber a better chance to start three times in the World Series. Losing here would undermine the entire plan.Miller attacked the next batter, Willson Contreras, who hit a shallow fly to center, which Rajai Davis caught. But in his haste to keep Ben Zobrist from scoring from third, Davis missed an easy double-play chance at second or first. I was so focused on the catcher, Davis said after. It was quite a long run too, by the way.One out, but now, because Davis threw home, Miller had to get two more outs instead of one. He overpowered shortstop?Addison Russell?and fought an old Boston teammate, David Ross, to a bases-loaded, 3-2 count before striking him out on what would have been ball four, but Ross couldnt check his swing.It was a sweaty, delicious, late-game October exchange whose encore was nearly as tense. Chicago brought the tying run to the plate again in the eighth off Miller, who again escaped, this time by striking out Schwarber to end the inning. Freed, Cleveland scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth for a 6-0 Game 1 win.High noon that night had ended, but in truth, the Series marquee matchup was just beginning. Miller didnt pitch in the Cubs 5-1 Game 2 win, but his versatility and ability to shut down the fearsome Cubs lineup over multiple innings has become the drama of the Series. Miller threw 46 pitches in Game 1. The Cubs had their chances and werent overmatched, but still, they didnt break him.But he was no longer just Andrew Miller. He was Andrew Miller, missing World Series piece at the trade deadline. He was Andrew Miller, realization of the closer by committee, who could pitch anytime when the game was on the line, whether it was the fifth inning or the ninth. He was Andrew Miller, the resurrection of Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage and Bruce Sutter, the old closers who made games three innings shorter. Most importantly, however, he was now Andrew Miller, Most Valuable Player of the American League Championship Series.Dont get me started on Andrew Miller, said Fox baseball analyst?Alex Rodriguez, who played with Miller on the Yankees this season. Phenomenal person. Phenomenal pitcher. I know it sounds really cliché, but hes the guy who stuck with it, turned it around, believed when maybe no one else did. Its remarkable.TO APPRECIATE JUST how remarkable the Andrew Miller story has been, consider that Miller was drafted sixth overall by the Tigers in the June 2006 draft and, within 90 days, was pitching in the big leagues -- barely any minor league prep for a 6-foot-7 left-hander growing into his body at the major league level. He was the new prototype emerging in baseball: the basketball-sized power arm.Consider that Miller is 31 years old, has been in the big leagues 11 seasons. Consider he is the X factor of this World Series. Consider that he was unable to put it together as a starting pitcher, or in his words, was a constant trade piece with no security, and is playing for his sixth team -- with the stuff Cubs manager Joe Maddon referred to as that slurve-slider-curvy thing he has. He lasted 21 games over parts of two seasons with the Tigers before being traded to Florida in 2007 in the Miguel Cabrera-Dontrelle Willis deal.It was command. He didnt have the command, former Tigers manager Jim Leyland recalled. But I think hes got it right. This game is hard. Success is definitely not a straight line, but are you willing to work?With the Marlins, control issues doomed him. In 2010, primarily as a starter, he posted a 1-5 record with an 8.54 ERA, allowing 51 hits and 26 walks in just 32 2/3 innings. Miller was the guy no one wanted to be: the top-10 draft pick who couldnt put it together.In 2010, I had been in thee big leagues for parts of the previous four years, and I was the worst player on my Double-A team, so at that point I was pretty frustrated, Miller said.dddddddddddd Just a little perspective. You dont hear guys talk about minor league teams, and I was maybe the second-oldest guy, and I kind of thought I was an afterthought. The real turning point was when I got to Boston. I was no longer a trade piece who was asked to perform because they gave away pieces. Just reset. Focus on baseball.The path to the ALCS MVP as the versatile reliever occurred by accident, really. Red Sox GM Ben Cherington acquired Miller after the 2010 season to be a starter. In 2011, Miller started 12 games for Francona, then the Red Sox manager, and thats the last time Miller worked as a starter.?I was supposed to be one of the seven to eight guys fighting for a fifth starter spot and got hurt, Miller said of his 2011 season. Then, I was eliminated.The next two-plus years in Boston, Miller became a valuable piece of the Red Sox bullpen, but he missed the 2013 playoffs and World Series championship with a left foot injury suffered at the All-Star break.We kind of saw it, and we were like, Just focus on being a reliever, said Cubs pitcher Jon Lester, who was Millers teammate in Boston. You could just see it building throughout that year, and, unfortunately, he got hurt. Our bullpen was lockdown at the end of the year.MILLER IS NOW at his peak. The Red Sox traded him to Baltimore during the 2014 season, but he remained a reliever. After the season, he joined the basketball team-looking pitching staff of the Yankees as a free agent, with Aroldis Chapman?(6-foot-5), CC Sabathia and Michael Pineda?(both 6-foot-7), and Dellin Betances?(6-foot-8). In 2015, he had a 2.04 ERA with 100 strikeouts in 61 2/3 innings. As the 2016 trade deadline approached, Millers value became even more apparent. The command was there. He was 6-1 with a 1.39 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 45 1/3 innings. Miller, finally, had found himself.It just isnt easy. I think we get sidetracked when you see the players who are the superstars, the Kris Bryants of the world, the Francisco Lindors, the guys who are young and having success and dont look like theyre ever going to look back, Miller said. I think thats not normal. Everybody else has to go through a grind, through the ups and downs. Those guys have slumps that last a week. Ive had slumps that lasted years.Now, he has a fastball that peaks at 97, a slider around 84 making the differential hard enough to pick up, never mind the movement that fools so many hitters. His versatility in the postseason, with its singular matchups and numerous off days, allows Francona to use Miller in the fifth inning, as he did against Toronto in the ALCS, or in late-game situations.Miller? Hes a bad man, retired Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz said of his former teammate, who helped eliminate the Ortiz-led Red Sox from the playoffs in an ALDS sweep earlier this month.Its great to see him build the confidence and repertoire he has. You see what hes able to do with his slider, but not only that, with his fastball, Lester said. He locates his heater. Hes not just a rock-chucker up there, throwing and hoping that they swing and miss. He has an idea.Miller will likely be a prize come free agency after the 2018 season, but neither Maddon nor Francona thinks it will be possible for Miller to pitch in so many capacities during the regular season. There just arent enough off days. Still, Maddon calls Miller one of the new hybrid relievers who harkens back to the 1970s, when relievers pitched multiple innings at different times during a game. That flexibility, and how the Cubs deal with it, will be a determining factor in the series -- similar to how Miller four years ago worked to survive and salvage his career.Its a story written 150 times in spring training. There are guys competing for jobs, you get hurt, and you lose it, Miller said. I was out of options, and if I wanted to play on the big league team, I had to find a way to get to the big league team. There were no roster spots on the rotation, and the bullpen was the way to go. In hindsight, it was a blessing in disguise, but you dont know it at the time. At the time, all I knew was I wasnt starting, and it was a shock, but you want to get to the big leagues. You find a way. Im glad that it happened. ' ' '