Wakefield sets goals for future
Knuckleballer not about to retire
Despite having back surgery Wednesday, it is clear that 43-year-old knuckleballer Tim Wakefield is not looking toward retirement. He said yesterday that he’s not interested only in getting the 18 wins necessary to make him the career leader in Red Sox history, but that he’s looking toward 200 and beyond.
“Past that, I can’t really tell you,’’ said Wakefield, who has 175 wins with the Sox, 189 overall. “I’m not planning on getting to that point and retiring, if that’s the question you’re asking.
“I still feel like I can contribute. I still feel like I can compete at the highest level, and I’m going to continue to play as long as my body allows me and as long as the Red Sox want me around.
“I do have those goals in mind, and it’s not the only reason why I’m playing. I’m playing because I feel like I can still contribute to us winning a championship.’’
Wakefield is likely to sit down with the Red Sox in the near future to discuss his contract. The Sox have recurring one-year, $4 million options on Wakefield, which they have to pick up shortly after the World Series.
After a very good start to the 2009 season, one that enabled him to make the All-Star team for the first time, Wakefield was able to make only four starts after the break. The herniated disk in his back, the subject of Wednesday’s surgery, caused him pain in his back and weakness in his legs, enough that he could only hobble around the infield and clubhouse. He had difficulty fielding his position toward the end of the year, and it became almost painful to watch.
Wakefield estimated that the surgery will keep him in rehab for 4-6 weeks before he can resume his usual offseason program. He said he should be ready for spring training on time.
“Everything went awesome,’’ Wakefield said. “Didn’t see any further damage in there, everything was cleaned up and ready to go.’’
But spending so much of the season out of the rotation or on the disabled list was difficult. He wasn’t able to help down the stretch, especially at a time when the Sox really could have used another arm.
“It was hard,’’ Wakefield said. “Because I was trying my best to go out there. I wanted to be out there to compete. We tried the easy route a couple times with cortisone injections just to try to get me on the field. It worked once, it didn’t work the other three times.
“It was very frustrating that I was doing everything possible to try to stay on the field, to try to get healthy, to try to prove that I could maybe pitch in the postseason. It just didn’t work out.’’
Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com. 
