Yes, Tanaka outpitched Greinke. Yes the Yankees sort of did okay against Cole, but lost. Add to that, the Yankees outplayed Verlander, they had 8 more hits in the series, and only one less run.
The Yankees lost two close games in that series, one in the bottom of the ninth and one in the tenth inning.
That was the difference.
Add to that the Yankees dominated and swept the 100+ wins on the season, Twins.
Add to that, the Yankees best pitcher was out for the playoffs".
Based on all of that evidence, I don't think that it's reasonable to conclude that the team was "poorly...built for a long run in the playoffs.
Not at all!
I do think that anybody with a long history of watching baseball would conclude that the Yankees dominated a very talented Twins team and that the Yankees lost to a very talented Astros in a close series.
I’ve said for years that a team built to win 100 games and draw 3 million fans is rarely the same team that is built to win 3 out of 5 games or 4 out of 7 games in a post-season series. The Atlanta Braves proved that in the 1990s. The Yankees have spent most of the last decade proving it. This team simply has too many players whose best position is DH, and too many hitters who look good on paper because they pile up offensive numbers in lopsided wins but aren’t good timely hitters.