And if the Yankees were in the National League, they'd be in the playoff hunt. In fact, if they had 20 games against the Braves, Marlins and Nationals, they'd be leading the NL East.
Even ignoring the competition, they'd be leading the NL West, and a game back in the AL Central. You realize that 4 of the 5 teams clinched finishing over .500 in the AL East?
We're in a tough division, had a lot of injuries, and had some unlucky bounces. The overreaction to missing the playoffs for one season in embarrassing. Stop looking for a scapegoat.