Five years ago, the Phillies won 102 games, seemed headed for their third World Series title and even had a book published about their standout rotation of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt.Then Ryan Howard injured his Achilles, other injuries followed and with each passing year, the memorable era of 2007 to 2011 faded in the distance. The losses piled up and eventually the core was traded away and only Howard remained.Howard will be somewhere else as he has a club option and the Phillies won't pick it up. If last year's trades of Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins were the reminders that the era is over, Howard's last appearances were the official confirmation.That era had its roots in the early 2000s when Rollins was a rookie in 2001 followed by Utley in 2003.Now the question for the Phillies: Is there another core group of players ready to get the Phillies back to those heights?The answer is inconclusive.The Phillies improved by eight wins and finished 71-91, though they were 46-72 after getting off to a 25-19 start through mid-May."We have to get better next year," manager Pete Mackanin said. "We have to show improvement and hopefully the moves we do make result in more wins."Among those the Phillies hope start forming the core are pitchers Vince Velasquez, Aaron Nola and Jerad Eickhoff. Each had their good moments while combining for a 25-29 record and 4.08 ERA, but the Phillies could use a veteran or two to round out the rotation.Their veteran rotation member was Jeremy Hellickson, who was 12-10 with a 3.71 ERA in a contract year. Hellickson said he would like to return, but the ideal scenario for Philadelphia is if he is not the number one starter.The real problem areas for the Phillies were relief pitching and offense. Other than Jeanmar Gomez's 37 saves and Maikel Franco hitting .255 with 25 home runs and 88 RBIs in 152 games, these were significant problems."We know that we need improved offense," Mackanin said. "We need a little bit more in that way. I feel that if we have a better offensive team next year, no matter how we get it we're going to be more competitive.Even on a team that scored the fewest runs in the National League and were at the bottom of several other hitting categories, there were some positive performances.Odubel Herrera, a Rule Five pick after 2014, batted .286 with 15 home runs and 49 RBI following up the .297, eight and 41 RBIs he produced last year.Tommy Joseph, who was acquired from the San Francisco Giants in the 2012 deal for Hunter Pence, batted .257 and hit 21 home runs after getting promoted May 13. Cesar Hernandez batted .294 in 155 games while playing acceptable defense at second base.The Phillies still have a ways to go to reach the heights of the era in which Howard thrived. Improving from 63 to 71 wins is not the indicator things are headed upwards.The indicator of improvement will be production from those acquired in trades for core players from past championship era supplemented by smart trades and good signings.