As thoughts of Red Sox fans quickly turn to 2010 (and how to avoid watching the Yankees for the next two weeks), we look at six big areas of uncertainty for next season:

1. Will Jason Bay be back?

Bay picked a great time to have a career year (36 homers, 119 RBIs). He'll be the most sought-after big bat on the free-agent market (Matt Holliday, anyone?) and none other than the New York Yankees figure to have a glaring need in the outfield (Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon also will be free agents). Seattle also has been rumored as a possible landing spot, as Bay lives about 15 minutes from the Mariners' ballpark. Bay has been a perfect fit in Boston from the minute he replaced Manny Ramirez in left, and his departure would leave a gaping hole in the Sox lineup. The sides talked contract several times before and during the season, so there is mutual interest, but how high a price is GM Theo Epstein willing to pay?

Bay didn't tip his hand after the game, saying only that the Red Sox were on a short list of teams he would consider. "I haven't gotten too far down the process, but there isn't a ton of other places -- I can't say this is the only place, this is one of them, which makes it tough to think this might have been it," Bay said.

2. Is Ortiz still a middle-of-the-order hitter?

Can the Red Sox count on Big Papi to be Big Papi? David Ortiz's remarkable turnaround from an equally remarkable stay in a black hole for the first two months of the season are well-documented. He's owed $12 million for next season, so it's doubtful the 33-year-old designated hitter is going anywhere, but his production for 2010 is far from a sure thing.

3. What to do about the aging veterans?

Is it the end of the line for the Sox's two elder statesmen? Is the team's perpetual $4 million option for Tim Wakefield -- who, don't forget, was an All-Star this season -- still a bargain given his annual physical breakdown? And is Wakefield physically and mentally interested in carrying on? (It sure sounded like it after Sunday's game. "They know I want to come back and I think I'm in their plans," he said.) Jason Varitek could invoke his $3 million player option (no way the Sox pick up their $5 million option), but is he physically and mentally ready to accept a backup role? And what of the "C'?

4. Should the Sox pick up Gonzalez's option?

Acquired on Aug. 14, Alex Gonzalez stabilized the shortstop position, particularly defensively, and hit surprisingly well for the Sox (.284, 5 HRs). He has a $6 million mutual option for next year; but is a career .247 hitter who doesn't walk and has a career OPS of .689 worth it? The Sox let him walk after 2006 in favor of Julio Lugo, and we all know how that worked out.

5. Which Dice-K will show up in Fort Myers?

Daisuke Matsuzaka did and said all the right things after being disabled in June and looked good in four starts at the end of the season. And the next World Baseball Classic isn't until 2013. But those numbers before he was shut down -- 1-5, 8.23 ERA, 2.20 WHIP -- are hard to shake.

6. Will the Sox consider trading Papelbon?

Ah, Jonathan Papelbon. The knee-jerk reaction after Sunday is to ship him out of Boston as fast as possible, make a big trade to fill one of the above needs, and hand the closer's job to Daniel Bard (or bring back Billy Wagner and give Bard one more year of grooming). The Sox haven't sewn Papelbon up long-term, as they have Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis, and Papelbon has said he plans on setting the standard for contracts for elite closers, something Epstein likely doesn't want to be a party to. Still, Papelbon is two seasons away from free agency and has been as good a closer as anyone -- at least before Sunday.

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