Davidoff: Thames is right man in unlikely situation

All you need to know about Marcus Thames is that, had every Yankee been healthier last night, he never would've had the chance to be pied in the face.

With the score tied after Alex Rodriguez crushed a two-run homer off Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning, and with Francisco Cervelli on first with two outs, Joe Girardi would've turned to Nick Swisher, had Swisher's left biceps not been bothering him, or Jorge Posada, had Posada not been sidelined by a foot injury.

But Thames has made a nice little career by defying low expectations. By surprising people. When he drilled a walk-off shot to leftfield off Papelbon, sending the Yankees home 11-9 winners and electrifying Yankee Stadium, he added an all-time moment to his impressive career.

"If you've ever seen me, I'm the same way. It doesn't matter," a fired-up Thames said afterward. "I was a 30th-round draft pick. I wasn't a first-round pick. Nothing has ever been given to me. So I've earned everything I've always had.

"I'm going to come out, keep working and see what happens. You like that?"

He directed that last question at reporters, as in "Does that quote work for you?" He's a likable guy, but also a proud guy. Proud, as he should be, of what he has accomplished since the Yankees selected him, indeed, in the 30th round of the 1996 draft.

This blast off Papelbon evoked just one other memory of his career: On June 10, 2002, as a 25-year-old rookie, he crushed the very first big-league pitch he saw over the leftfield wall at the old Stadium. Oh, and the pitch came from the left hand of Arizona's Randy Johnson.

He got postgame pie that night, too, from long-forgotten backup catcher Alberto Castillo. Yet no one in the park that night will ever forget that homer, and last night brought the predictable question over which was better.

"This one's a walk-off," said Nick Johnson, Thames' buddy from their days together in the Yankees' minor-league system. "That was for his first hit." Johnson couldn't decide.

"I think this one is up there, too," Thames said. "This one, you can't take that away from me."

He pointed out that he has more career homers against righties than lefties, yet that reflects quantity of opportunities and nothing else. Thames owns far better on-base and slugging percentages against lefty pitchers than against righties.

So with Papelbon appearing to lose his cool, Thames thought to himself, "Hit a fastball," and not to be overly aggressive, as he was during an eighth-inning strikeout against Daniel Bard. Just as with Johnson in '02, he finished his work on the first pitch.

These Yankees are 25-13, comfortably ahead of the fourth-place Red Sox (19-20) despite enduring a rash of injuries and a slow start from important players. They owe gratitude to a small core of players, including their top four starting pitchers - Phil Hughes endured his first bad start of 2010, as the Red Sox wore him down after the Yankees jumped out to a 5-0 lead - Robinson Cano, Brett Gardner, Cervelli and Thames.

The Mississippi native picked up only 13 plate appearances during his first go-round as a Yankee, and after seven years away (six with Detroit), he found himself having to sign a minor-league contract and make the team in spring training.

Now, with Johnson out for an extended period and other guys shut down for the moment, Thames has his real Yankees playing time. He once again is surprising us and thrilling his teammates, who appreciate his down-to-earth personality and strong work ethic.

"Just a great man," A-Rod said of Thames afterward. And for those of us on the outside, a great underdog story.