Yankees' Matt Thornton gets his Red Sox ring

NEW YORK – The general manager and manager of the Red Sox met privately with a Yankees reliever in a side room beneath the Yankee Stadium stands before Friday night's game. Ben Cherington and John Farrell had a gift for Matt Thornton, a shiny piece of jewelry every major-leaguer craves.

They congratulated him and presented him with his World Series ring. Jacoby Ellsbury was the other Yankees player on their ring presentation schedule.

"It's nice," Thornton said, sitting alone at his locker about an hour later. "To be a part of something like that is a pretty special time in anyone's career."

After his championship experience, the Yankees gave the 37-year-old lefty a two-year, $7 million deal.

"I think he brings a veteran presence," Joe Girardi said, "a very strong left-handed presence that can pitch at the end of the game, which is something he's done for a long time."

The thing was, Thornton was with the Red Sox in October, and then again, he wasn't.

They left him off the postseason roster.

"Extremely disappointing," said Thornton, a veteran of just one division series in a major-league run that dates to the 2004 Mariners. "You work your whole career — some people don't ever even get the chance. And I had the chance. Just inconsistency caused me not to be on the roster.

"But I was there, prepared to step in if they needed help and was able to go along for the ride pretty much."

So he was in the dugout and in the celebrations, and frankly he loved being with those famously bearded players after coming over from the White Sox last July 12.

"They're a great group guys and accepting of me from the day I got there," Thornton said. "... I just tried to fit in. I didn't try to do too much and just be a part of the team."

The big problem for Thornton came nearly a month after he got there. He strained his left oblique, sending him to the DL from Aug. 7 to Aug. 25. His return didn't go too well.

"I definitely feel like I rushed, looking back at it now," Thornton said. "At the time, it seemed like the right thing to do to get back as soon as possible to try to help by the end of the year and be ready for the playoffs. But it definitely wasn't right. But at the same time, it was one of those things where I didn't pitch well."

The Yankees are counting on him to pitch well, especially vs. tough lefties. Thornton hasn't given up a run or a hit in four outings, having worked 1 2/3 innings. He arrived for the season with a career 3.53 ERA and as the only major-league pitcher to appear in at least 55 games each of the past nine seasons.

In seven and a half seasons with Chicago, he made more relief outings than anyone in franchise history, 512 of them. He was an All-Star in 2010 when he went 5-4 with a 2.67 ERA. But Thornton accepted his trade to Boston "as part of the game." The appeal of signing with the Yankees was rather simple.

"They're a championship contender," Thornton said. "They expect to win and anything less is unacceptable. That's way I look at it."

Twitter: @bheyman99