BOSTON - Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Gary Bell walked into the interview room at Fenway Park yesterday afternoon and said he was ready to sign a contract.

Bell, 70, and four other fellow members of the 1967 "Impossible Dream" team - Galen Cisco, Billy Rohr, Lee Stange and George Thomas - the team known as the Cardiac Kids, will be honored as part of the Red Sox' pregame ceremonies at today's home opener at Fenway.

"I can't believe it's been 40 years," said Bell. "I think about it every day."

There will be 20 members of that legendary team in attendance today, including manager Dick Williams and outfielder Carl Yastrzemski, who won the Triple Crown that season, the last player in the majors to accomplish the feat.

Many believe that Red Sox Nation, as it is known today, and all the insane hoopla surrounding it, began during that 1967 season when Boston won the American League pennant despite 100-1 odds. Things have certainly changed in the last 40 years, but for the small contingent representing the '67 Sox during a news conference yesterday, it seemed like yesterday.

The game has changed. The players have changed. Even Fenway Park has received a few facelifts since 1967. But the passion these former players felt, and still feel, for the Red Sox, the ballpark and the fans hasn't changed.

"They would have never put those seats on top of the Monster," said Stange, a right-hander who posted an 8-10 record with a 2.77 ERA in 35 games (24 starts) in 1967. "They would have had to hand out helmets."

It wasn't your typical press conference at Fenway Park. The five players were laughing, joking and tossing out one-liners like a coach hitting fungoes. They reflected on the past, but also spoke of the current state of the game and the Red Sox.

"There is only one thing that has changed, and that's money," laughed said Bell with a laugh. "We didn't get any."

Stange quickly responded: "Yeah, but we had more fun."

Bell was asked to compare today's roster to the one he was on 40 years ago.

"Actually, overall I think we had a better hitting club than this one," he said. "Of course you have Manny and Big Papi, but we had Rico Petrocelli, George Scott, Tony Conigliaro, Reggie Smith and Yaz. That's not a bad lineup. I imagine these guys wouldn't mind having any of them right now. I don't think our pitching staff was as strong as this one can be."

Bell, a right-hander, posted a 12-8 record with a 3.16 ERA in 29 games (24 starts) that season after the Red Sox acquired him in a trade from Cleveland in exchange for Tony Horton and Don Demeter. He also said that while he thinks the '67 lineup was better, Boston's current pitching staff is better.

Of course, the Sox had Jim Lonborg leading the way 40 years ago, but Stange said the current Sox staff has the ability to dominate.

Many things have changed since 1967, and the Red Sox finally won a World Series in 2004, something the '67 team couldn't accomplish. Each of the five members present at Fenway Park yesterday could give you a blow-by-blow account of the Red Sox' championship run three seasons ago just like they were sitting in the dugout.

"All of New England was on fire for that one," said Bell.

Now, Boston has gone global with the addition of Japanese pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima, something the players from 1967 never even imagined.

"Japan was a place to go if you couldn't hit or throw," said Stange. "It's great for baseball. It's all good press."

The nostalgia of that magical season won't be felt until those 20 members of the 1967 team step onto the field before a sellout crowd prior to the Boston-Seattle game to kick off the home schedule of the 2007 season.

It won't be the last time this season fans will be treated to the "Impossible Dream" team as the boys will be back in Boston two more times before the end of the summer.

"I don't want to leave," said Bell. "I just want to stay until August."