All spring, the theme has been the "change" regarding the Red Sox, a team with an entirely new infield, a new center fielder and a new co-ace. Then, you had the anti-change standing on the mound at City of Palms Park on Thursday.

What would another Boston baseball season be without Tim Wakefield, a fixture throughout a memorable decade-plus of transformation?

The venerable knuckleballer is getting set for his 12th season with the Red Sox and looks as if he could go another dozen after this.

"I want to play as long as I can," Wakefield said. "As long as they want me to keep coming back, I'll keep coming back."

Wakefield's former teammate Mike Myers was quoted in The New York Times saying he'd like to play another eight years so he could break the record of Jesse Orosco for games pitched.

Could Wakefield also pitch that much longer, and perform in the same age bracket as knuckleballers from years past, such as Charlie Hough, who retired at 46, and Hall of Famer Phil Niekro, who hung up the spikes at 48?

"I probably could," said Wakefield. "We'll see, I don't know. That would put me at what, 47? I don't know. I'll get past 41 and see what happens after that."

Wakefield will hit the big 4-oh on Aug. 2, and he's shown no signs of slowing down. Last year, for example, he won 16 games, just one short of his career high. And his 225 1/3 innings were a personal best.

He will kick off his 2006 season on Tuesday in Texas, getting the nod one slot behind ace Curt Schilling.

"I think Wake knows how much we appreciate him," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "We're pitching him second. That's a lot of responsibility, but I think he deserves it."

In his last tuneup before Texas, Wakefield surrendered two hits and a run to the Reds, walking one and striking out three. He was solid, just as he was all spring -- and, for the most part, the last 11 years.

If Wakefield decides that pitching deep into his 40s is something he really wants to do, his contract is structured perfectly for it.

When the Red Sox gave Wakefield an extension last April, it came with an unlimited amount of club option years at a reasonable base salary of $4 million.

In other words, as long as Wakefield still wants to pitch and is still performing at his current level, expect the Red Sox to keep kicking in that option.

Free agency? Those two words are practically foreign to Wakefield, who is a pure throwback.

"It meant more to me to have the stability to stay here," said Wakefield. "I'm a firm believer in loyalty, which the Red Sox have been very loyal to me over the last 12 years, and I want to stay loyal to them. The stability and security is more important to me than trying to be a free agent. I'd much rather stay with a team that I'm comfortable with in a city I love, regardless of the money. At this stage of my career, it really doesn't matter anymore."

Wakefield has come to embody the Red Sox, both from his tireless work in the community, as well as his professionalism on the field and in the clubhouse.

There are few more reliable options than Wakefield, which is ironic when you consider how erratic his best pitch can be.

In short, he has been a rock, never more than in the past few seasons.

"Well, that's the whole idea," said Francona. "That's why he's still pitching and pitching effectively. I don't want it to go under the radar. I think it can, because he's so consistent. He just has a unique style."

Physically, Wakefield doesn't feel 40.

"I feel the same," he said. "I've been taking a lot of pride in the winter time to work out and stay in shape. The older you get, it gets a little harder. I think our training staff is really big on maintenance and staying in shape."

The only "shape" that has changed with Wakefield is the form of the team around him. He has gone from a club that had Roger Clemens, Mo Vaughn and Mike Greenwell, to the Pedro-Nomar years, to the historic championship ride of '04 and to the current edition.

"I've seen a lot of changes over my 12 years here," Wakefield said. "Some have been great, some have been bad. I think the change this year is great. We've got a lot of class guys on our team now. Not saying that we didn't before -- I think the organization prides itself on getting the right kind of guys to fill those holes, and I think they did a very good job doing that. I think good character builds good chemistry, and I think all the guys we have, the new guys, have great character and they'll fit in just perfectly here."

Particularly if they follow the lead of the team's elder statesman.