BOSTON — Regardless of what happens the rest of the season, the Yankees have done something unusual: they have won the praise and respect of many baseball people for the way they have gotten themselves back into contention for a playoff berth.

As the richest franchise in the game, and the team with far and away the highest payroll, the Yankees are almost never underdogs.

Sentimental favorites in pinstripes? Maybe once in a blue moon. It is hard to root for a team that so often relies on its wallet to obtain what it needs.

This year is different.

This time, the Yankees have shown grit and determination to fight through numerous injury problems. They’ve had unexpected players, role players, step forward and contribute. And when they did go elsewhere to get help, as they did over the weekend, they did it not with their checkbook, but by using young talent to get proven players in Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte.

After being as many as nine games out of a playoff spot, they have surged with eight straight victories and suddenly are squarely in the postseason hunt. The team has every right to take satisfaction in what it has done.

But it is not doing that, according to manager Joe Girardi.

“I don’t think you take time to reflect on that,” he said. “The satisfaction is when you are where you want to be November first. The goal is still there. Obviously, there are still a lot of games left. We have a lot of work to do, but we’ve made up some ground fairly quickly and we need to keep going.”

As his team prepared to play the series finale against the Red Sox at rainy Fenway Park yesterday, Girardi spoke how matters are different from usual.

He used Jose Molina as an example. Molina is a 32-year-old catcher with a career average of .243 in seven previous seasons in the majors. He was obtained from the Angels in July of last year and had all of 66 at-bats with the Yankees.

When Jorge Posada went down with shoulder problems, the Yanks had no choice but to turn to Molina, who has never been a regular catcher in the majors. He is only hitting .220, without a home run, but Girardi raves about him.

“What he’s been able to do with our staff, with our veteran pitchers and our young pitchers, getting them through tough spots, has been remarkable,” Girardi said. “His ability to shut down the running game has been great. Jose understands how to run a staff. I don’t know here we’d be without him. We’d probably be under. 500 without him.”

He is not alone. In desperate need of a starter with Phil Hughes, a prized prospect, and Chien-Ming Wang, the ace early in the season, on the disabled listed, the Yankees moved Joba Chamberlain into the rotation. That looked to leave the bullpen short.

Not to worry. Edwar Ramirez has retired 36 of the last 41 hitters he has faced. Kyle Farnsworth has had 11 consecutive scoreless appearances. Rookie David Robertson has compiled a 1.46 earned-run average in his first 10 chances. The venerable Mariano Rivera, has been perfect in save situations. The bullpen has a 1.60 ERA in the last 24 games.

It could get better. Now the pen has a lefty and a proven one in Marte. He came in the trade with Pittsburgh on Saturday that also brought outfielder Nady. In his first appearance, Marte struck out David Ortiz in a clutch situation with two runners on in the seventh inning Saturday.

Girardi used three relievers to get out of that inning. He spoke about how getting Marte allowed him to do that.

“If we don’t have him, we probably don’t do that,” Girardi said. “By having Marte it allows you the luxury to do that.”

“Before we were pretty much in a situation where if a guy got up, he pitched an inning,” Girardi said. “Very seldom did we make changes in the middle of an inning.”

Nady also fills a big hole. The Yankees needed a left fielder. They were considering rushing Johnny Damon, who has a shoulder problem, back in as early as possible, because they needed the help so badly.

Nady not only fills that hole, he also provides a good right-handed bat, another area where the Yanks were thin.

The Yankees still could use another starter and that might happen, too. Word is they are in talks with Seattle about Jarrod Washburn. The team still has an uphill challenge dealing with a young Tampa Bay team and a Red Sox team that will have a favorable schedule down the stretch.

But with what they have accomplished in the past month, they have made themselves a factor in the race once again, even if they have gone about it differently.

pkenyon@pjo.com