Every team is going to have slumps. In a sport where you play 162 games that's just reality and the Phillies are smack dab in the middle of that reality. They've lost six of their last eight, including their last four games. In those last four losses they've been shutout three times. Worst of all, the last two shutouts have come at the hands of the rival New York Mets.
Still, slumps aren't necessarily a reason to panic, but as Paul Hagen explains complacency could be...
The Phillies have had a lot of success lately. Three straight division titles. A world championship. Plenty of exposure in national games on Fox and ESPN. Rich new contracts for many of the stars and plenty of adulation from the string of sellout crowds at Citizens Bank Park. When people are constantly telling you how great you are, a sense that's reinforced every time payday arrives, it's human nature to start believing it.