Mother Nature, Fox and the NFL are threatening the Yankees’ plans to use CC Sabathia as many as three times in the ALCS.
The weather forecast is for heavy rains this weekend, and the Commissioner’s Office is particularly fearful that tomorrow night’s ALCS opener at the Stadium is in strong peril of being postponed.
If that’s the case, Game 1 would be played on Saturday and Game 2 on Sunday, which currently is scheduled as an off-day.
However, because the Angels vs. Yankees is a Fox series, the Commissioner’s Office probably will move the ALCS game to Sunday night so as not to conflict with the network’s 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. NFL telecasts.
The marquee game on the NFL schedule is a Fox game at 1 p.m. with the Giants playing at New Orleans. Fox also has two 4 p.m. games, including the Eagles at the Raiders. The problem for central baseball is that NLCS Game 3 is scheduled for Sunday night on TBS, and the Commissioner’s Office usually works hard to make sure that the ALCS and NLCS are not played concurrently. In this scenario, however, there may be no other choice.
Right now, ALCS Game 3 in Anaheim, Calif., is scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday (1 p.m. in L.A.). But if the teams play Sunday night, it would be doubtful they would be asked to fly cross-country and play Monday afternoon. So that game could be re-scheduled to Monday night, but the more likely probability is that Monday would become an off-day.
In that scenario, Games 3, 4 and 5 would be played on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
At present, there is an off-day on Wednesday. That off-day, without any postponement, was going to enable the Yankees to start Sabathia in Game 1, on short rest in Game 4 and, if necessary, on normal rest for Game 7.
However, under a rain-revised schedule, if the Yankees went with a three-man rotation, then not only would Sabathia have to pitch on short rest in both Games 4 and 7, but A.J. Burnett would have to pitch Game 5 on short rest, as well.
Both Sabathia and Burnett have had a lot of rest of late and both have good histories on three day’s rest. Sabathia is 3-1 with a 1.01 ERA in four career regular-season starts on three day’s rest. However, on three day’s rest in the playoffs last year, an exhausted Sabathia was strafed for five runs in 32⁄3 innings against the Phillies. Burnett was asked to start on three day’s rest three times last year for the Blue Jays and was brilliant, going 3-0 with a 1.86 ERA and a .183 batting average against.
Nevertheless, if the Yankees need to go short three times, the likelihood rises that Joe Girardi would turn to a fourth starter. Girardi still is saying that if the Yankees need a fourth starter that it could be either Chad Gaudin or Joba Chamberlain.
But multiple sources have told The Post the Yankees’ strongly are leaning toward Gaudin, in part because Chamberlain pitched well out of the bullpen in the Division Series.
joel.sherman@nypost.com