The Top Ten potential Yankee embarrassments in the postseason

Hey, it's October - the season of pumpkin spice - and, of course, the Yankees are init to winit. 

Ex-Yanks and shoulda-beens dot the postseason rosters, which begs The Essential Question: 

What players, by having a big October, could most embarrass the Yankee brain trust? Whoa. That's a tall order - embarrassing the unembarrassable. 

Nevertheless, here's the Top Ten Potential October Yankee Embarrassments.

10. Ezequiel Duran. At age 24, he hit .276 for the Rangers. Looks like their long-term 3B. (Imagine that: A long-term 3B.) We traded him for - gulp - Joey Gallo.

9. Joey Gallo. Gulp. To fully embarrass the Death Barge, Barney Google would have to go on a huge hitting spree, and we all know that he won't. Still, his 2021 acquisition launched Brian Cashman's incredible downfall. Joey rouses memories. Remember "The Big Package?"  

8. Jorge Mateo. Starting SS for the AL's best team. As a kid, the Yanks touted him  - he was a Martian before The Martian - until the day they suddenly announced he was gone, and he'd never really been in their future plans. (A common theme in our steady decline: The prospect who was always secretly going to be traded.) Fun Fact: We dealt him for Sonny Gray.

7. Josh Donaldson. Hard to say whether he embarrassed the Yankees as much as he did himself this year. If he got hot and led Milwaukee to a world series, his every plate appearance would wound Cashman. It would almost be fun. No matter what, though, glad to see him gone.

6. Nathan Eovaldi. It's been a seven hard years since the Yankees gave up on him. But they had him for two seasons - long enough to assess his character. And they didn't. Nope, they let him go to Boston, where he won a championship and became one of the toughest pitchers in baseball. With every October outing, he should remind Cashman of his mistake.

5. David Robertson. Has fashioned out a sturdy, 15-year career. Dear God, he was ours. He shoulda been a lifelong Yankee. Again, they couldn't see what they had? They couldn't recognize his character? I remember one time when the benches cleared, and Robertson sprinted in from the left field bullpen - (the others jogged) - because he is a teammate. Why has no one ever been held accountable for letting this guy go? 

4. Jordan Montgomery. Ow, hey - this is starting to pinch. Another of Cashman's greatest crappings of the bed. He's spent his GM career chasing what he calls "the white whale," dominant starting pitchers, and yet he traded Montgomery for an injured, light-hitting OF. From the minute the deal was announced, Yank fans shouted WTF? His every appearance this October will be an embarrassment.

3. Aaron Hicks. We'll pay him $20 million over the next two years. Don't get me wrong: Guy had to go. But sometimes, you just have to wonder: How did we get to such a wretched place? And why is no one ever held accountable?  

2. Sonny Gray. We traded Mateo and Kaprielian for him, and then suddenly decided he didn't have the fortitude to make it in NYC. It's that common theme: If a guy gets off to a bad start, announce to the world that he's a wuss, and trade him for whatever. This, by the people who jettisoned Eovaldi, Robertson, et al. He should be runner up to Cole's Cy Young. He's an ace. Whatever chances Minnesota has this month, they rest on Gray's shoulder. Cashman traded him for Shed Long, Jr.   

1. Bryce Harper. A great hitter, a great teammate, a leader, a fan favorite, and a future hall-of-famer. In 2019, as a free agent, he visited NYC, begging for a chance to fulfil his childhood dream and play for the Yankees. They hid under their beds. Imagine Harper batting next to Judge. Instead, billionaire Hal counted his pennies and didn't answer the phone. For as long as Harper plays - five years, 10? - he should always embarrass our owner and his favored lackey.