Good ESPN.com article about Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield: “Wakefield’s longevity in perspective.”

Key stats:

With 17 more innings, he’ll tie Cy Young for second most innings pitched in Red Sox history and could pass Roger Clemens (whom he trails by 64 2/3) by the All-Star break.

He’s the oldest player in the American League, and second only to the Phillies’ Jamie Moyer, Wakefield turns 44 in August.

If Wakefield is still playing in May of next year (he is signed though 2011), he will become the oldest Red Sox player ever, a distinction currently held by something of an interloper. Deacon McGuire was 85 days shy of his 45th birthday when he played his final of seven games in a Boston uniform in 1908.

Just how long has Wakefield been around? He actually played on the last winning Pirates team, a franchise that has posted 17 straight losing seasons, a record for all four major sports.