Well, they improved from 2007 to 2008!
It's pretty amazing just how fleeting that group was, the teams got better because the starting pitching got better but the window closed on the star position player core pretty quickly (and sooner than it had to thanks to how long it took for their careers to start). And as good as job as Ruben did within the limitations of ownership (which not only set up the Lee trade but later forced him to dump Pence to get under the tax) I don't think his acquisitions were improvements over the guys he let go (Ibanez/Burrell, Pence/Werth, Polanco didn't replace anyone better but was too old/limited at that point, even a few more years of Vic would have been better than who they got after him). Of course those $ restrictions (and the Howard contract) affected all of that as well.
Is is pretty hard to view this team as one that should get better with each passing year; our stars have held up better than anyone expected but most of our youngsters didn't get get better (with Bohm joining the stars - since he'd become one - in the second-half swooning).
