Red Sox management will have many tough decisions to struggle with as the coming months unfold. Two of the most important will be whether or not to re-sign Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre, both of whom will be looking for big money after great 2010 seasons.

The fans, though, have come to a decision about the future for the two players. They think bringing Martinez back is more important.

Peter Gammons and Tom Caron discuss all of the offseason options.

Their biggest decisions to make will likely revolve around two players this offseason — Adrian Beltre and Victor Martinez.

Both will be free agents following the conclusion of the season, and both have provided the Red Sox with impressive seasons this year.

Beltre, who the Red Sox signed to a one-year contract for $10 million, turned out to be the best bargain in last winter's free agent season. The 31-year-old third baseman has put up one of the best seasons of his career. He's peppered the Green Monster with line drives all season on his way to a .321 average with 28 home runs and 102 RBIs.Not only that, Beltre has led by example all year, playing the game with intensity every single day.

Martinez wasn't able to put up the same numbers that Beltre did which was a product of the catcher's various injuries throughout the season. And despite missing time with hand and foot injuries, Martinez has still put up pretty serviceable numbers. Also 31 years old, Martinez entered Sunday's finale batting .302 with 20 home runs and 79 RBIs. He saved his best work for the end of the season, hitting .314 with 11 homers and 40 RBIs since Aug. 1.

Both will leave voids if they leave and it's unlikely to think that the Red Sox will sign both Beltre and Martinez.

So between the two of them, which is the bigger priority for the Red Sox to re-sign?

Text "SOX1" to 54252 for Adrian Beltre or "SOX2" to 542542 for Victor Martinez.

And that's really saying something.

The third baseman will hang up his spikes after this weekend's series in Boston, but he won't ever be forgotten. In a short Red Sox career, Lowell has left an impact that will live for years to come.

In the process, he's created many memories, and though there are too many to count, we're asking which of these three is your favorite:

Winning 2007 World Series MVP
Lowell batted .400 in the four-game series, hitting a homer, driving in four runs and stealing a base for good measure.

Hitting one of four consecutive homers against Yankees
Before the Sox were world champs in '07, they had to establish their power in the AL East. That started in April, when Lowell was part of the quartet that homered in back-to-back-to-back-to-back at-bats off Chase Wright.

With a national audience watching, Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew, Lowell and Jason Varitek all hit homers, turning a 3-0 deficit into a 4-3 advantage.

Hitting homer in first at-bat coming off disabled list
This one is certainly near and dear to fans, as it happened just two months ago. Lowell had been out of the lineup due to injury since June 22, but he was able to return on Aug. 3.

The Fenway faithful, looking to show their collective admiration and appreciation for Lowell, rose to give him a standing ovation as he walked to the plate for his first at-bat.

The first pitch came, and Lowell homered. It was a moment that a veteran like Lowell will remember for a long time.

It's hard to pick just one, but which is your favorite Mike Lowell moment? If it's his World Series MVP performance, text "SOX1" to 542542. If it's the four straight homers against the Yanks, text "SOX2" to 542542. If it's the homer in the first pitch off the DL, text "SOX3" to 542542.

Joe Torre's six pennants and four World Series titles apparently trump the efforts of Cito Gaston and Bobby Cox.

Cox may have more wins — and certainly more ejections — than Torre, but fans apparently don't think that his legacy, nor that of two-time champion Gaston, can match Torre's.

Dennis Eckersley and Tom Carron discuss.

Gaston achieved something in his stint as manager that seems almost impossible in the year 2010 — he won multiple World Series in Toronto. The Tampa Bay Rays may not have existed in 1992 and 1993 when he achieved such, and the Yankees and Red Sox weren't at their best as franchises, but Gaston managed truly great teams, and was part of one of the greatest moments in World Series history — Joe Carter's walkoff.

He, though, isn't the only Toronto Blue Jays manager to be leaving baseball this season. Bobby Cox managed in Canada from 1982 to 1985, when he was still in his mid-40s. The long-time Braves manager has set all sorts of records, but perhaps none is as notable as his career ejections mark. He's also won five pennants and championship, and ranks fourth all times in career wins.

The man right behind him on that list, Joe Torre, also managed the Atlanta Braves — in addition to stints with the Cardinals, Dodgers, Mets and, of course, the Yankees. Torre won four World Series and six pennants while reigning over New York's late 1990s dynasty. He may be retiring, but the door still doesn't seem totally closed on his career. We still may see more from Joe.

So, who do you think made the greatest impact on baseball?

Text 'Sox 1' to 542542 for Gaston, 'Sox 2' to 542542 for Torre, or 'Sox 3' to 542542 for Cox.

Wednesday's NESN.com Question of the Day asked fans who they thought would go further in the playoffs — the Yankees or Rays. Sticking to their Yankee-hating ways, 62 percent of voters said the Rays had a brighter playoff future.

Of course, with the disarray the Yankees pitching staff is in, those results are likely based on more than just emotion.

The results were revealed on Red Sox Final.

The New York Yankees simply have not ended the year in the way that they began it. They've been beset by injury woes, and their starting rotation has gone from great to mediocre. Phil Hughes' form declined drastically as the second half progressed, Andy Pettitte missed nearly two months with injuries, Javier Vazquez pitched poorly enough to be relegated to the bullpen and A.J. Burnett has been close to following him down that path. Even Mariano Rivera hasn't been as dominant as he usually is.

Still, even if they are just one game above .500 since Aug. 1, they are still the Yankees. They have the best offense in the major leagues, and they are the defending champions. It's hard to discount their chances just because of the way they've finished the season.

Tampa Bay, too, hasn't kept up its blistering first-half pace. The Rays' struggles have come in nearly every phase of the game. They've had inconsistent pitching, and their offense has gone long stretches without scoring whatsoever. The Rays, though, have much more balance as a team than do the Yankees, and they seem to be built for playoff success — they excel in tense, low-scoring games.

So, who do you think will go further in the playoffs?

Text 'SOX1' to 542542 for the Yankees, or 'SOX2' to 542542 for the Rays.

Tuesday's NESN.com Question of the Day asked fans if they thought anyone would ever hit .406 again. Two of every three voters said that the Splendid Splinter's 1941 average of .406 will never be duplicated again.

Check out the video below from Red Sox Final to get Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley's thoughts about whether or not someone will every accomplish the feat again.

Of course, in baseball, perfection is impossible, but Williams' swing might have been the sweetest in the history of the game. So much so, in fact, that his .406 average in the 1941 season has not been matched in the past 69 years.

There haven't even been many players who could even come close. Tony Gwynn hit .394 in 1994, George Brett hit .390 in 1989, Williams himself batted .388 in 1957 (at the age of 38), Rod Carew hit .388 in 1977 and Nomar Garciaparra, Todd Helton and Ichiro Suzuki have each batted .372 this decade.

What makes that fact even more amazing is that throughout the steroid era, as home runs soared out of ballparks at unheard-of rates, none of the bulked-up sluggers took a run at Williams' mark. Though Williams' .406 isn't the best in history, nobody had reached the .400 mark in 11 years when he did.

It's now stood for nearly 70 years. Will anyone hit .406 again?

If you think yes, text "SOX1" to 542542. If you think no, text "SOX2" to 542542.

That division, of course, is the American League East, and fans have taken notice.

In Monday’s NESN.com Question of the Day, fans had to choose between the AL East, NL East and NL West, and 65 percent voted for the AL East.

After this weekend’s slugfest in New York, that’s no surprise — especially considering the first-place Rays weren’t even involved.

The NL East, with two potential playoff teams in Philadelphia and Atlanta, is a worthy contender, while the NL West has been perhaps the tightest race all season long.

Check out the results from Red Sox Final in the video below.

While most New Englanders aren't likely to grade the Red Sox on a curve, it's fair to say that this club won't be getting many straight A's from even the kindest fans.

Even though the third-place Sox are on the outside of the postseason looking in, the team would have been right in the thick of things in three other divisions. At 86-69, the Sox would be giving the Rangers (87-68), the Reds (87-69) and the Giants (88-68) a run for their money.

So which division is the strongest?

The AL East features the top two teams in the MLB in the Rays (93-62) and Yankees (93-63). It also happens to be the only division that features four teams with at least 80 wins.

The Twins were the first to clinch and currently jockeying with the Rays, Yankees for the best record in the AL.

The Phillies own the best record in the NL at 93-63 while the Braves are six games behind them in second place. The West features quite the race to the finish as the Giants, Padres and Rockies are all within 4 1/2 game of each other.

So which division is the strongest? Text 'SOX1' to 542542 for the AL East. Text 'SOX2' to 542542 for the NL East. Or, text 'SOX3' to 542542 for the NL West.

Three stars lead the pack, representing each of the American League's divisions. All have been able to maintain a consistently high average to accompany big power numbers.

In the East, Robinson Cano has emerged as the rock in the Yankees lineup, batting .321 with 28 home runs and 104 RBIs.

From the Central division, Miguel Cabrera is batting .326 with 35 home runs and 120 RBIs.

Lastly, Josh Hamilton has bounced back from a disappointing 2009 and handled a switch from center to left field with ease. Hamilton leads the AL with a .361 batting average to go along with 31 home runs and 97 RBIs.

But Hamilton has missed most of September with a rib injury, and Cabrera's Tigers have long been out of the playoffs. Does this leave Cano as the favorite, or should the numbers do the talking?

Who do you think should win the AL MVP award?

Text 'SOX1' to 542542 for Cano or text 'SOX2' to 542542 for Cabrera or text 'SOX3' to 542542 for Hamilton.

While the American League's Cy Young race is coming down to CC Sabathia, David Price, Jon Lester, Felix Hernandez and perhaps Clay Buchholz, the NL race may come down to a pair of aces in Roy Halladay and Ublado Jimenez. 

Halladay scooped up his 20th win of the season on Tuesday night and is now tied with Sabathia for the MLB lead in victories. Jimenez has a chance to join them on Wednesday.

The former Blue Jays ace, Halladay is 20-10 with a 2.53 ERA. He leads all of baseball in complete games (eight), shutouts (three) and innings pitched (241 2/3) and is third in strikeouts with 213.

Jimenez is 19-6 with a 2.84 ERA. The fire-baller has four complete games and two shutouts, including a no-hitter.

Who do you think should with the NL Cy Young Award?

Text 'SOX1' to 542542 for Halladay or text 'SOX2' to 542542 for Jimenez.

The future looks bright for both the O's and the Jays. As the Red Sox are finding out right now, Baltimore is playing its best baseball in quite some time under new manager Buck Showalter. And north of the border, Jose Bautista's breakout season along with some good young pitching have Blue Jays fans optimistic about the future.

Tuesday's NESN.com Question of the Day asked fans which team — the Orioles or the Blue Jays — would have more wins next season. The vote was split directly down the middle. Both teams have shown they have the potential to keep getting better, something that will make the quest for a playoff spot that much more difficult for the teams in the best division in baseball.

The results were revealed on Red Sox Final.

There's a strong chance they could win 90 games this season and still be on the outside looking in when the playoffs roll around. One of the biggest reason for that will be the success of the two teams they are chasing — the Yankees and the Rays.

The scary thing is, the Red Sox, Yankees and Rays may get an even bigger fight out of the AL East cellar-dwellars — the Blue Jays and Orioles — next season.

The Blue Jays, who have seemingly been on the cusp of making the next step and becoming a legitimate playoff contender for years, once again showed this season that they are close. But as has been the case in recent years, a fast start for the Jays slowly faded midsummer and they'll once again be left asking themselves how to once and for all compete in the East.

The Orioles will once again finish in last place this season. But, there is some reason to be optimistic. Manager Buck Showalter was hired on July 29 and since then, the O's have been a different team. Since Showalter's hiring, Baltimore is 28-21. Throw in a good mix of young players, and there's finally at least something to look forward to as an Orioles fan.

The Blue Jays and Orioles have each shown signs of turning things around at different points of this season. Which team will win more games in 2011?

Text "SOX1" to 542542 for the Orioles or "SOX2" to 54242 for the Blue Jays.

Monday's kgb Question of the Day asked fans in which sport does the manager or coach have the greatest impact. Of the three sports listed, fans believe that baseball managers are the most influential on their team, earning 64 percent of fan voting.

While basketball and hockey coaches coach in a consistent vocal manner, baseball managers serve in a quieter but just as effective role. Working with a roster of 25 very different players of all different nationalities and backgrounds, baseball managers maintain balance in the clubhouse.

Basketball coaches ranked second in the poll earning 27 percent of the vote, while hockey coaches collected nine percent of the vote.

Hall of Famer Peter Gammons provided analysis on the poll, agreeing that baseball managers have quite the job to do.

"They do a great deal of work at the beginning of the season," Gammons said. "They have coaches that they give a lot of responsibility to, and the biggest thing they have to do is be psychiatrists and psychologists.

Check out the poll results below from Red Sox Extra Innings.

While a coach or manager isn't necessarily directly involved with the play on the field, the best are the ones who are able to get the greatest performance out of their players.

In baseball, managers are faced with the daunting task of keeping a team well-rested, focused and driven throughout a grueling 162-game season. Terry Francona is known to be one of the best skippers in the game for his ability to keep his team loose, and it's paid off with two World Series wins for Boston.

In hockey and basketball, coaches also act as spiritual leaders. Lakers head coach Phil Jackson is known as the "Zen Master," because he has a knack for convincing great players to work together as a cohesive unit.

But more so than baseball managers, hockey and basketball coaches deal with the Xs and Os. It's hard to draw up too many plays in baseball, but in hockey and basketball, strategy is half the battle.

So, which sport does a manager/coach have the greatest impact?

Text 'Sox 1' to 542542 for baseball, 'Sox 2' to 542542 for hockey, or "Sox 3' to 542542 for basketball.

Terry Francona

Sunday's NESN.com Question of the Day asked fans what the Boston skipper's best managed season was. Despite bringing World Series rings to Boston in 2004 and 2007, voters feel that 2010 has been Francona's best season yet.

Despite the fact that the team has lost multiple players to injury and Francona has had to seemingly shuffle the lineup every day, there is still a chance the Red Sox could win 90 games. And while their playoff hopes continue to fade, people are obviously recognizing the job that Francona has done this season.

"Managing the people with that house of insanity in 2004 was an incredible job," Hall of Famer Peter Gammons said on Sunday's Red Sox Extra Innings Live. "He's done a tremendous job this year. For them to have a shot at 90 wins for this team is almost mind-boggling."

Check out the video for more from Gammons and Tom Caron as well as hear from Francona following the Red Sox' 6-0 win over the Blue Jays on Sunday.

Terry Francona

The team has been without stars Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia for the better part of the season, and those have been far from the only injuries.

In fact, nearly everybody other than Adrian Beltre and Marco Scutaro has missed time, and journeymen and rookies have had to step up in the constantly shifting lineup.

Even so, the team has been more than respectable. They may be eight games adrift in the tough AL East, but at 82-66, they'd be just one out in the NL West, and probably would have won many other divisions if they hadn't had to face such stiff competition all the time.

It's hard to compare Francona's 2010 managing job to what he did in 2004 and 2007, though. When you win the World Series,you really can't do any better.

The Sox didn't just win the World Series, however. They put up 98 and 96 wins in 2004 and 2007 respectively, and were pushed to the brink of elimination in the ALCS before sweeping the World Series in both years.

So, what do you think has been Terry Francona's best-managed season?

Text 'Sox 1' to 542542 for 2004, 'Sox 2' to 542542 for 2007, or "Sox 3' to 542542 for 2010.

The Jays do feature powerful bats and promising young pitching, but have struggled to keep pace with the big three atop the AL East in recent years.