The patient has been flat-lining for weeks. It's time to haul out the crash cart, crank up the defibrillator, apply the paddles, send for a clergyman and hope for the best.

That's what this season has come to for the Brewers.

After spending 125 days in first place, the once high-flying local club is free falling. A nightmarish weekend in San Francisco, where they were swept by the putrid Giants, left the Brewers with a .500 record (65-65) for the first time since April 10, when they were 4-4.

The Brewers, who were 48-34 on July 2, have lost 16-26 since the all-star break and 14 of their last 19. They trail first-place Chicago by 1 ½ games heading into a three-game series that begins Tuesday night at Wrigley Field.

Here are some points to ponder as the Brewers prepare for what could be a make-or-break series against their biggest rival:

High stakes: This might be the biggest series the Brewers have played since 1992, when the club hung on in the pennant race until the final week before conceding the division to Toronto. That season, Phil Garner's first in Milwaukee and Paul Molitor's last, represents the last winning season by the Brewers, who were 92-90.

R.O.Y: The '92 Brewers were led by Pat Listach, who beat Cleveland's Kenny Lofton for American League Rookie of the Year honors. The '07 Brewers have a solid R.O.Y. favorite in Ryan Braun.

Even Steven (well, almost): The Brewers are 74-77 in the all-time series against the Cubs.

Comeback trail: Both teams are hoping to welcome star players back to the active roster this week. Brewers right-hander Ben Sheets, who has been out with a sprained right middle finger, threw on the side Sunday and could start Wednesday or Thursday night.

The Brewers need him. The rotation has been abysmal since he went down.

The Cubs should see the return of outfielder Alfonso Soriano, who has been out since Aug. 5 with a strained right quadriceps. Soriano leads the Cubs with 18 homers.

History lesson: Believe it or not, the Cubs have helped the Brewers before.

In the late 1990s, when interest was waning at County Stadium, the Cubs injected some excitement. Sammy Sosa brought the Great Home Run Chase to town (remember Rafael Roque?) and Brant Brown dropped a memorable flyball. In the early years of Miller Park, the Brewers could count on Chicago fans to pump up the attendance during Cubs series.

Top of the hill: The Cubs pitching staff lines up pretty well for this series. Lefty Rich Hill (7-7, 3.67 ERA) is slated to start the opener against Jeff Suppan. The Cubs will follow Hill with Carlos Zambrano and Ted Lilly. The Brewers are undecided for the second and third games, primarily because they don't know about Sheets or right-hander Claudio Vargas, who is nursing a bad back and may be placed on the disabled list.

Turning point: A lot of people will point to the Zambrano-Michael Barrett dugout dustup or manager Lou Piniella's umpire abuse as the turning point in Chicago's season.

Others look back to Chicago's 6-5 victory on June 29.

On that day at Wrigley, the Brewers jumped out to a 5-0 lead in their first at-bat against Hill (what is it with this team and five-run leads?) and spent the rest of the afternoon frittering it away.

In the bottom of the ninth, Aramis Ramirez connected for a two-run, walk-off homer off against Francisco Cordero.

That game, though, was a preliminary. The series this week may contain a more pivotal moment.