Pending free agents enjoy perhaps their final day with Red Sox?

His bargaining position "is better now than it was before," Lowe said after the parade. "Any time you prove to people you can pitch in October, it doesn't hurt."

He doesn't know whether he'll sign rather than become a free agent. But he and Varitek are represented by Scott Boras, who rarely encourages his clients to accept less to stay with their team.

Lowe and Varitek have both said they'd like to return, though each is expected to become a free agent.

"My heart's here, so we'll see," Varitek said. "There's a few things that are very important to this getting done and we have to see how willing they are to get this done."

With the team's first championship in 86 years and the parade now part of history, general manager Theo Epstein will focus on next season early this week.

One player who will be back is World Series MVP Manny Ramirez, who is signed through 2008 with club options for two more years. He joked about reports he had heard the New York Mets would like to have him.

"Hey, they're going to trade me and Pedro for two clubhouse guys," the playful Ramirez said.

Then he turned serious -- well, as serious as he can be.

"I want to end my career here, man. This is the place to be," Ramirez said. "I couldn't get any sleep last night. I went to bed about 4 a.m. (excited about) the parade."

It was an unusual two days after Boston's clinching 3-0 win in Game 4 in St. Louis.

Lowe played golf on Friday and was "awful."

"I shot an 88," he said.

Reliever Curtis Leskanic joked he was "in a fetal position in my room in disbelief of what just occurred."

Johnny Pesky, an 85-year-old special assignment instructor who played in the 1946 World Series with Boston, kept receiving congratulatory phone calls.

"You'd think I was running for public office," he said.

Then it was time for the parade.

"Everybody's waiting for us to go out to celebrate with us," Ramirez said. "It's something special. We hope they don't give us a (championship) ring from K-Mart."

Martinez, Lowe and Varitek still may be wearing Red Sox jerseys when the ring ceremony is held at the April 11 home opener, along with the raising of the World Series banner.

Ramirez was surprised when told that the rival New York Yankees will be the opponent that day.

"Really? Oh, my God. It's going to be crazy," he said. "It's going to be unbelievable."