As a long-suffering fan of the Houston Astros, 2017 could not have been a more enjoyable year for me. Taking down three historic franchises – the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers – on the way to the first-even World Series victory will forever be imbedded in my mind. I still have the image of Charlie Morton’s celebration on my home screen. But after watching four games this week, I am ready to admit what so many Yankee haters feared.

The Evil Empire is back and better than ever.

Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino used this allusion to Star Wars (also one employed by Ronald Reagan during the Cold War in describing the Soviet Union) when his team was facing a New York Yankee team that had won four World Series titles in five years. Those championships of the late 1990s coincided with my early teaching years at Floral Park Memorial High School. Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams and Andy Pettitte jerseys flooded the hallways. As difficult as it was to see, who could argue with the team’s greatness. Four homegrown superstars carrying this historic franchise to one title after another.

Now, we are forced to deal with the likes of Aaron Judge, Luis Severino, Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar continuing the same path. Intelligent decisions like the trades for Didi Gregorius (as an avid fantasy baseball fan, I could have told you two years ago that he would have been a star) and Giancarlo Stanton have made the Yankees not only the team to beat this year, but for many to come.

I am certain that this year’s Sports Editor Shane Palma will have much more to say about his favorite baseball team during the remaining week’s of the school year. But for now, Yankee fans can enjoy the dominance on the field while the rest of us figure out how to survive this latest dynasty period.