Philadelphia Phillies 2012: 11 Ways to Regain Their Mental Edge over Opponents

Only a few years ago when the Phillies were fresh off of a World Series Championship, the team possessed one of the more important but sometimes overlooked factors of greatness: intimidation. Loaded with offensive stars who were more than prone to hit the long ball, the Phillies had the ability to go up to the plate already with an edge because of their skill at knowing how to get under the opponent’s skin. Beginning with Jimmy Rollins and his bold 2007 post season declaration, the Phillies combined talent with mastery of the mental game and rode that to a World Series Championship.

As of 2012, the World Series winning season will already be four years in the past and since that time the Phillies have slowly lost the mental edge they possessed. Teams aren’t as intimidated by the Phillies anymore because they have discovered and highlighted their weaknesses. By being successful, the Phillies went from the mostly unnoticed prey to the now chased and hunted predator, with teams constantly game planning to exploit baseball’s former best team.

Although by many it is believed that the pieces are there for the Phillies to repeat, the mental edge they had in 2008 is gone. As the NL East continues to get stronger, regaining this mental edge will be key to the Phillies once again winning the World Series.

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