CHICAGO - Closer Cody Allen says the Indians go into every series thinking the other team is going to try and steal their signs. It's part of the game.

"We change up our signs a lot," said Allen. "We try to make them a little complex. I feel if you continually change them up, it's going to be harder for the other team to get them."

So teams are always on alert, but members of the Indians became more concerned than usual on Aug. 1 when they lost, 12-10, to the Red Sox at Fenway Park. In that game four of their best pitchers - Carlos Carrasco, Andrew Miller, Bryan Shaw and Allen - allowed all 12 of Boston's runs.

That is not a normal occurrence and raised concerns. When MLB busted the Red Sox for using Apple watches to steal signs against the Yankees during an August series, it did not come as a surprise to the Indians.

In fact, there are some in the organization who feel the Red Sox did the same thing to them. New York GM Brian Cashman, according to the New York Times, filed the complaint with the commissioner's office. The Red Sox, according to the report, have admitted doing it.

There is no evidence that the Indians relayed their suspicions to Commissioner Rob Manfred, but it's hard to believe the Yankees were the only team who thought something fishy was going on. Cashman's complaint included videos showing a Boston trainer standing in the dugout getting information from the Red Sox's video team on his Apple watch about the signs the Yankees' catchers were giving to pitchers. The trainer would give them to players in the dugout, who would flash them to hitters.

There are no rules against sign stealing. It is a time-honored tradition in the game. But using electronics on the bench to steal signs is illegal. To some it goes against the competitive ethics of baseball.

The Indians and Red Sox played each other seven times from July 31 through Aug. 24. The Red Sox won four of the seven games.

Allen didn't notice anything alarming when he pitched against the Red Sox.

"Still, there is a little bit of a line there that you can't cross," said Allen, referring to the use of electronics on the bench. "Everybody is trying to get every advantage they can get by having a little baseball intellect and being able to pick up signs. You're all for that.

"But if you're using ways to do that, where everybody doesn't have the same advantage, that's the line you don't want to cross."

In the end, Allen said, "If they had our signs, that's our fault."

Boston manager John Farrell and Dave Dombrowski, the Red Sox president baseball operations, denied knowledge of the sign stealing scam. In politics that's called plausible deniability.

Indians manager Terry Francona said he noticed nothing out of the ordinary when his team played the Red Sox. He felt the sign stealing was a product of the rivalry between the Yankees and Red Sox, but MLB's investigation into the matter said Boston used it against other teams as well.

Francona did say that hitters certainly can benefit if they know what pitches are coming their way. He added that as a manager he has an obligation to not let the opposition steal their catcher's signs if they put a runner on second base.

"We need to make them where we can get them and they can't," said Francona. "I think that's gamesmanship. I don't think you go into other areas (electronics). That's something we wouldn't do. In my mind, there's a line you don't cross. But it's different for everybody. Everybody wants to win."

The Indians and Red Sox could meet in the postseason this year as they did in 2016. The fact that some in their organization believe the Red Sox may have broken the rules to steal their signs in August would certainly add intrigue to the series.

That and the fact that Francona and Farrell are friends and that Farrell has close ties to the Indians. He not only pitched for them, but was their farm director. Now they have another connection: sign stealing.