Meteorologist Joe Girardi and Kansas City

Joe Girardi is the manager of a team that won 103 games, so that's what matters, and who is this little blog to challenge that?

Except that Girardi is apparently set to go with a three-man rotation in the ALCS, despite evidence that suggests modern big league pitchers just aren't effective on three days rest.

We should pause for a quick moment here and point out that Girardi knows his team, um, better than some idiot newspaper guy wearing sweats at his kitchen table. The Yankees are paying CC Sabathia $160 million, so, you know, get your money's worth.

We're just here to point out a little history made last year in Kansas City.

Part of Girardi's thought process is that the 10-day forecast calls for rain, so if a game is delayed, he gets his Sabathia-Burnett-Pettitte trio on more regular rest, and who wouldn't want CC Sabathia to pitch three of a possible seven games?

Except we've seen this before in Kansas City, where Girardi overthinks himself when looking at a weather report and costs his team.

We take you back to April 10 of last season, when the Yankees played the Royals and Girardi pulled scheduled starter Ian Kennedy at the last second in favor of reliever Brian Bruney. Girardi got his Katie Horner on and apparently thought there'd be a long rain delay in the second inning, so he'd outsmart everybody by using a couple relievers early and then having Kennedy "start" the third inning.

Or something like that.

Problem is, the rain never came heavy enough for a delay. Kennedy ended up pitching the last three innings. He and -- wait for it -- Kyle Farnsworth each gave up two runs in a 4-0 Royals win that surely pleased the baseball gods*.

* There was a reference once to the baseball gods being pleased or upset by something that happened in a Royals game two years ago. A friend responded, "Please. The baseball gods are not watching the Royals."

Here is Kennedy's quote after the game:

"It was different. I was playing catch before the game, thinking I was going to start. Right before I was going to take the mound in the bullpen to warm up, they told me. I know Andy Pettitte said he's never seen something like that."

Fast forward to the ALCS that starts tonight, and Girardi is again letting The Weather Channel dictate his pitching plans.

It's quite possible that one has nothing to do with the other, of course. It's quite possible that Sabathia will be terrific on three-days' rest, and it's quite possible that Girardi's meteorology will actually work out this time.

But it's also quite possible that Girardi is overthinking himself just like he did last season, and that it might cost his team.

The irony is that the weather may actually end up preventing Girardi from going through with his plans. If tonight's game is postponed, the ALCS loses a scheduled offday and it would be nearly impossible to pitch Sabathia three times in seven games.

Maybe the weather gods and baseball gods got on a conference call and decided to help him out.