To say he's done everything in his decade with the Red Sox simply does not do Tim Wakefield justice. With tens of thousands of knuckleballs over that span, Wakefield has baffled hitters all across the American League.
He's done it by pitching every fifth day, by even closing for a two-month stint in 1999, by volunteering on several occasions to come out of the bullpen when the staff was spent.

At the same time, he's been an ambassador in the community, a rock in the clubhouse and the definition of a teammate on the field.

It's all but impossible to picture that, a year from now, Wakefield won't be here in Fort Myers, preparing for a 12th season with the Red Sox. Entering the final season of his contract, the 39-year-old Wakefield has no desire to look for a new employer at the end of the 2005 campaign.

"I'd like to [sign an extension], but I don't want to talk about it," said Wakefield. "We'll see what happens towards the end of the year."

Shortly after his flawless tuneup (two innings, no hits, no walks, three strikeouts) against Northeastern University was over, Wakefield was asked what it would mean to play the rest of his career for the Red Sox.

"Everything," said Wakefield. "They said publicly that they want me, too. We'll see what happens."

So much has happened with Wakefield throughout his decade with the Red Sox. He has been unique for far more reasons than the pitch he throws.

Who, besides Wakefield, would have voluntarily given up his start in Game 4 of last October's American League Championship Series to help stop the bleeding in an eventual 19-8 blowout loss in Game 3?

In manager Terry Francona's mind, time has done nothing to diminish that accomplishment.

"He's a pretty terrific guy," Francona said. "What he did in Game 3 against the Yankees was probably, for me, the ultimate. He didn't just offer to go down to the 'pen. He had his spikes on and his glove. You think back at the circumstances. We beat the Angels in three, so my first thing was to tell him he wasn't starting [the first two games of the ALCS]. He wasn't happy. I don't blame him. Guys want to pitch. He got bumped back. He had been waiting after what happened against the Yankees [in '03] and everything, and to sacrifice a start like that, that's not just lip service."

That was proved a couple of hours later when Wakefield gave a typically low-key comment regarding that night.

"I was just doing what I felt was the right thing to do at the time," Wakefield said.

That's Wakefield. He doesn't talk a lot, especially compared to many of his gregarious teammates. But he proves his worth by his actions.

Two days after that sacrificial outing in Game 3 of the ALCS, Wakefield helped save the season, knuckling his way through three shutout innings in the 14-inning epic that was Game 5. If it wasn't for that clutch effort, the Sox might have never even got back to New York, let alone win the World Series.

The 2003 ALCS ended on one ill-fated knuckleball by Wakefield that Aaron Boone wrapped over the wall in left. Wakefield seemingly willed the continuation of the season by what he did in Game 5.

For a man who has come up large for both the Pirates and Red Sox his share of times in October, Game 5 against the Yankees holds a special place in his heart.

"It's pretty high up there," said Wakefield. "Any time you're in postseason, especially playing New York, it's a pretty special moment."

Wakefield is also in a special class. Only five players in the Major Leagues have done like Wakefield, and been with their respective teams as far back as 1995. They are John Smoltz (with the Braves since 1988), Trevor Hoffman (a Padre since 1993), Darren Dreifort (Dodgers since 1994), Brad Radke (Twins, 1995) and Mariano Rivera (a Yankee since '95).

While he's always used his versatility to help his team in times of need, Wakefield bristles at what took place when Joe Kerrigan was the pitching coach, and then the manager after Jimy Williams got fired. After winning 17 games for the '98 Sox, Wakefield still has a hard time reasoning why he relieved more games than he started from 1999-2002.

"I think Kerrigan took advantage of the situation for those four years," Wakefield said. "I'd proven to them that I can give them 200 innings every year and win 12 to 15 games every year, but for some reason, I ended up being the mopup guy."

There has already been talk about who will go to the bullpen when Wade Miller is healthy enough to join the rotation. Wakefield doesn't plan on being that guy. At this stage of his career, after proving so much, he thinks he's earned the right not to.

Knowing full well the nature of Boston baseball and all the fan and media scrutiny that surrounds it, he understands why it has already become conversation.

"It's part of being versatile, I guess," said Wakefield. "I don't have any plans of stepping down or going to the bullpen when Wade Miller gets healthy. That's just my own personal opinion. You'd have to ask [Francona] what they're thinking."

If the Sox are fortunate enough to have six starters healthy at once, Bronson Arroyo could be the guy moved to the bullpen.

"If I had to choose one guy out of our rotation who could go to the bullpen and be a star and be the Ramiro Mendoza [of old], throw 100 innings, that's [Arroyo]," Francona said. "It's interesting. Again, to start the season, he's going to be in the rotation. We'll see."

Having too many quality starters is a problem a manager dreams of.

"I honestly hope it's a real dilemma," Francona said. "If one of our pitchers is coming to me or to you and complaining about not starting, we're in very good shape. That's a problem I hope that arises."

In Wakefield, Francona still sees the look of a guy doing everything to improve, even as he nears 40.

"Wake came to camp, I think, noticeably stronger," Francona said. "Maybe that translates into a couple miles per hour on his knuckleball, we'll see. It looked like that today. It looked a little firmer to me. I think he changed his workout program a little bit over the winter. I think it's going to pay some dividends."

Meanwhile, 10 years after erstwhile general manager Dan Duquette claimed Wakefield off the scrapheap, the venerable knuckleballer continues to pay off in countless facets for the Red Sox.