Rich Hofmann: Not even Amaro knows whether Phillies are better

OTHER THAN the closer - about whom you might only question the salary, not the performance - the Phillies have done their work this winter along the edges. They have tinkered with their 102-win team but done nothing bold. There was no Roy Halladay under the tree this year, no Cliff Lee. Even that excellent closer, Jonathan Papelbon, is only a marginal improvement over Ryan Madson at his best.

What they have done makes complete sense, adding power potential to the bench (with Jim Thome especially) and turning the bullpen into a crowded, competitive piece of real estate. But John Mayberry Jr.-for-Raul Ibanez in leftfield is a move that makes you nod your head more than clap your hands. Re-signing shortstop Jimmy Rollins, the entirely sensible thing to do, is a plus only when you consider the alternatives. And Ryan Howard will still be missing time at the start of the season with his Achilles', and everybody else in the core group is a year older, and you wonder.

For the first time in several years, you wonder:

Are they better?

"That's a good question," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "Healthwise, I think we're a little bit better. I think we're more stable in rightfield [with 2011 trade-deadline acquisition Hunter Pence]. I think, defensively, we're probably a little bit better in leftfield at this stage of the game.

"But, overall, are we better? I don't know."

It is a recognition, more than anything, of the stature of the people in the lineup, the amount of money invested in them, and the time in the franchise's life cycle. This is a very good team, one for which the World Series is the only acceptable outcome, but the clock ticks.

A general manager is never done - and it is still the widespread belief that moves at the trade deadline, neat little moves after you find out what you really have, are crucial. At the same time, given this roster and this payroll, there is only so much the general manager can do. Put another way: When you're running Halladay, Lee and Cole Hamels out there, turn after turn, everything else does tend to fall into the next echelon.

At a certain point - say, this year or next year - this group will repeat the championship it won in 2008 or the historians will begin to do their work.