Tim Wakefield knows what he's doing.

Throughout his 200-win career -- a title the knuckleballer can now claim after Tuesday night's 18-6 Red Sox win over the Blue Jays -- there have been plenty of examples regarding his flair for doing the right thing at just the right time.

One instance that always jumps out was back on April 15, 2009 in Oakland -- the site of what would be his 179th career victory -- when he walked into Terry Francona's office and told him not to worry out dealing with a bullpen that had been depleted thanks to Daisuke Matsuzaka's one-inning start that turned into a 12-inning loss. 

Wakefield had the situation under control, which would be evidenced in a complete game victory in which he allowed only two runs with just 35 of his 111 pitches called balls. It was a moment that offered great theatre.

Tuesday presented the 45-year-old's latest stage.

“I’m very grateful, one, that it’s over with, two that it was able to happen here at Fenway Park in front of our home crowd," said an emotional Wakefield after allowing five runs over six innings in the Sox' win. 

"Going outside and seeing the signs and all the people and my teammates came out in support. That says a lot about everything that’s gone on in my career and tonight. I’m kind of speechless when it comes to that, but I’m very grateful that I’ve been able to wear this uniform as long as I have and reach the milestone I thought I’d never reach. Just very grateful.”

Like that start in Oakland, Wakefield could have whipped off such a memorable performance at numerous other dates on the schedule. Twenty-two of his wins, in fact, have come by pitching nine innings ore more.

But this win -- this moment -- came at just the right time … once again.

The drama, and subsequent pageantry, that surrounded Tuesday night could have very well been forced into the visiting clubhouses in Chicago, Minnesota, Seattle, Kansas City or Toronto. All of those cities were stops along what would turn out to be Wakefield's eight-start tour for 200.

That 200-win hat which Wakefield wore to the podium Tuesday night, which his friend had made for him more than a month ago, could have very well been busted out long ago.

The film crew that has been following around Wakefield all season long for a documentary on the knuckleball might have been spared hours of uncomfortable footage, chronicling what seemed like Wakefield's 1,001 ways to deal with 47 innings of winless pitching.

Each table of media notes for the past 51 days wouldn't have had the package presented by the crack Red Sox media relation staff entitled "Tim Wakefield's Pursuit of 200 Career Wins." In the three-page handout were all the facts and figures you ever want to know about the pitcher's quest, including a list of all his wins, along with what exactly what was going on in the world when win No. 1 came his way on July 31, 1992. (Who could have remembered the "Billboard" top song at the time was Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back"?)

It would have left us without what unfolded Tuesday night.

A few things made the timing of Wakefield's historic win perfect. Perhaps most important was that the victory actually meant something. In fact, you could make the argument it was the biggest game the knuckleballer has started since his appearance in Game 4 of the 2007 American League Championship Series.

The Red Sox hadn't won in five games, and were dangerously close to watching the Rays close to within two games in the Wild Card chase.

"There was some genuine happiness, probably for us, too," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "Seems like we've been waiting for that win as long as Wake's been waiting for his. It was a good night. We needed to win, and it was probably appropriate that it was Wake."

And then there was the way he did it.

This wasn't the "get on my back, boys" type of outing we saw in Oakland two seasons ago. But what it did represent was another example of Wakefield's resilience. The moans and groans could be felt throughout Fenway Park after the starter gave up the lead not once, but twice after three innings. Then, however, came one last push by the Sox' offense, one which Wakefield wasn't going to let slide by.

After the game, Francona admitted Wakefield was a batter or two away from not getting a chance to make it through five innings after giving up a moon-shot home run to Jose Bautista and then putting two runners on in the third inning. Two strikeouts later, however, and he had another chance.

And isn't that what Wakefield's career is all about, turning back the road to nowhere to actually end up somewhere pretty important. He did it after being released in 1995, and he did it earlier this season when seemingly buried in the bullpen.

This time the end result was one of Fenway Park's most memorable regular season moments in quite a while. It was, once again, great timing on Wakefield's behalf.

"Sometimes you go through the grind of a season, and you’re so locked into your personal stuff, trying to get things done, your work, your personal numbers. Everybody is in their own little bubble," he explained. "But when a moment like this happens and you’re able to share it with your teammates -- a lot of whom I’ve been with for a long time and the new guys who got called up today -- being able to share that with them is very special to me.”