Uhhhh They sure as hell looked like the best team on paper each of those years. If healthy, 2004 would have looked like an all star team. In '08 and '09, they were certainly the best team in the NL on paper. What? The '08 team certainly had an impressive season, but they weren't all that exceptional going into the season on paper. A good team, sure, but the "best team in the NL?" They were even less impressive going into '09, especially given who they were relying on and how old the team was.