This is more of a “keep it in the back of your mind” thing, as the Red Sox say that their plans with respect to Clay Buchholz have not changed for the World Series. But Rob Bradford of WEEI reports that there is at least some question about Buchholz’s health at the moment:

While a source suggested there are some physical issues Buchholz is dealing with, there is presently nothing that the Red Sox anticipate will force an alteration to the team’s postseason rotation. Manager John Farrell, in outlining the rotation for the World Series, said that John Lackey will start Game 2 with Buchholz and Jake Peavy expected to pitch Games 3 and 4, with the order yet to be announced.

Obviously if he was suffering from some injury things would be different. As it is now, we can only note that Buchholz’s velocity has been down of late and that he has not been as dominant in the postseason as he was in the regular season. He’s allowed ten earned runs in 16.2 postseason innings so far, while striking out 15.

I sort of like the matchups for St. Louis at the moment, with Adam Wainwright and Michael Wacha going 1-2 against Jon Lester and John Lackey. If Buchholz is at his best, the advantage swings back to Boston. If not, hmmmm.