LOS ANGELES -- The second he heard the phrase moment of truth, you could see the brain cells smoldering in Joe Maddons head. The look on his face said it all. Nope, wasnt going there. Couldnt possibly go there.Im so bad at drawing lines in the sand, he said.What he meant, of course, was that this was no time for any manager to draw that line. But whether he drew it or not, there was no way to escape it. For the 2016 Chicago Cubs, this was that moment of truth. This was a place theyd never been. This was a feeling theyd never felt.Shut out two games in a row for the first time all year. Suddenly, shockingly, trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers?two games to one in the National League Championship Series. And facing the sort of test that all great teams need to pass if theyre going to prove theyre as good as they think they are.For me, its about putting this one in the wastebasket, come back and play tomorrow, Maddon said Tuesday night, after his offense had been dominated again in a 6-0 loss that represented their most lopsided shutout of the year. Its one day at a time. Ive preached that all season long. ... So I cant get so dramatic about it.?OK, cool. We get it. Getting dramatic, thats our job. So cue the strobe lights and the trumpets. Here is what makes this moment so critical for the Cubs:In the history of best-of-seven postseason series that were tied 1-1, the team that lost Game 3 has come back to win the series just 29.5 percent of the time.In the League Championship Series, that rate drops to 27.3 percent.And then theres this: Over the past 30 years, seven teams like the Cubs have found themselves in this precarious position -- down 2-1 in a best-of-seven series -- after winning 100 games that season. Only two have come back to win -- the 1995 Indians and the 1998 Yankees (both in the ALCS).Those are tough odds. And these are tough moments. But coincidentally, a man who played for those 1998 Yankees was in Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night, watching the Cubs go down again. And no one had to remind Jeff Nelson what it felt like to be in this position.He remembered it vividly. Remembered exactly what it felt like to have to win Game 4 of that ALCS on the road, in Cleveland, against a team that had eliminated them the year before. Except there was one big difference between those Yankees and these Cubs, Nelson said Tuesday.Their expectation level was a lot different than ours, said Joe Torres prime right-handed setup man, because they havent won since 1908. ... They won 103 games, and I think now theyre feeling that pressure.Torre has said many times that the one time those 114-win Yankees felt anything resembling that pressure was in that ALCS, when they fell behind 2-1 and found themselves facing their first real must-win game of the year. So what happened in that must-win Game 4? El Duque happened.Orlando Hernandez went to the mound and spun seven shutout innings. And once El Duque won, Nelson said, then it was over.Once he won Game 4, we felt the momentum shift, Nelson said, and we went back to doing what we did in the regular season. And you know what? The Indians felt it too. I remember standing around the batting cage the next day, and some of those Indians players said, Now youre going to win. Im not going to name names. But one or two of those guys actually said that.Well, the Cubs dont have El Duque to send to the mound Wednesday night. But they will have a man who has started more postseason games (22) than any active pitcher. That man is John Lackey. And his team has never needed him more.Those 1998 Yankees scored a run for El Duque in the top of the first inning. Then their starting pitcher wouldnt let them lose. And that is the sort of game these Cubs desperately need to play -- after scoring in none of their past 18 innings and just one of their past 24.When you dont score, youre not in control of the game, and youre going to lose, said the Cubs Chris Coghlan in a clubhouse full of players trying to maintain a confident face. Thats just going to be a fact. But I think when we get some runs and push them across, then obviously, thats how you get control of the game. Thats what we did all year.Then again, what they did all year was roll out one of the best offenses in baseball, a lineup that scored more runs than any National League team except the Rockies. But the postseason, Coghlan said, is totally different than the regular season, because youre going to get everyones best. And so far, their best has been overwhelming the Cubs best.To be a great team, to be a win-the-World-Series team, you need to score against good pitching and beat good pitching. And in this postseason, outside of a couple of eruptions, these Cubs havent scored and havent hit. Which is how theyve gotten themselves into this mess.Theyve batted .185 as a team in this postseason. Theyve batted .161 in the NLCS. And against left-handed pitching, theyve been even worse, hitting .152 overall and a mind-boggling .106 (5-for-47) in the NLCS. Which is kind of a big deal, because yet another left-handed starter, Julio Urias, will be waiting for them Wednesday night, after taking notes on what Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill have done to the Cubs in the past two games.But the left-handed members of the species arent the Cubs only issue. Theyre also seeing more off-speed stuff in fastball counts than they saw all year and not adjusting real well. During the regular season, these hitters saw non-fastballs in just 28 percent of all hitters counts (2-0, 3-0, 2-1, 3-1 and 1-0). In the NLCS, the Dodgers have nearly doubled that rate to 48 percent. It hasnt gone too hot.I havent really noticed a difference, said Kris Bryant, the one Cub who has actually hit like himself (.333) in this series. But I dont like to pay too much attention to that kind of stuff. I leave that up to you.OK, thats fine too. Were happy to do all that math for him. But heres what is up to him and his buddies: Getting back to work Wednesday and reminding themselves of what they did all year and how they did it.Those 1998 Yankees did that by holding a meeting before every game of that postseason, Nelson said. And in those meetings, their manager, Torre, had a way of restoring order when it was needed most.He had unbelievable confidence in the way we played, Nelson said. He had unbelievable confidence in his players. He never said, We have to do this, or not to do that. There was nothing negative at all. We won 114 games. But those 114 wins have to be in the back of your mind. You cant think, Wed better win because weve got to complete this great year. Joe had that confidence, and it carried over to us.So now maybe its up to another manager named Joe to somehow transmit that same feeling to these Cubs. And Joe Maddon seemed to understand that intuitively Tuesday night.Theyre going to react to how Im going to react, Maddon said. Ive always believed that. Ive always thought, for me, regardless of the situation, that I have to be consistent when I walk into the room. They have to see consistency from me, which hopefully theyre going to be able to do. But beyond that, man, like I said, there is not a whole lot to do except come out and play again tomorrow.So is this their moment of truth? You decide. On one hand, Bryant observed hopefully, this isnt anywhere near as bad as being down 3-0, as they were in last years NLCS to the Mets. But on the other hand, these are the facts:This is a team that spent one day of this entire season out of first place. And that day was April 8. Then the 2016 Cubs hit the accelerator. They started 8-1. And 17-5. And 25-6. They held a nine-game lead in their division by May 14. And they never led by fewer than five games at any point in their last 115 games.So has there been any game since last years NLCS that carried the weight of the game they will play Wednesday at Chavez Ravine? That answer is nope. So this is that moment, when we find out what theyre really all about.Teams that win the whole thing always have games that define them, Coghlan said. They always have games you look back on and say, Holy cow, I cant believe they won that game, or, How did they pull out of that? Well, I feel like weve had a couple of those already. ... And I think every person in this locker room feels like well have a couple more of those in us now. Kyle Juszczyk Jersey . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. Joshua Garnett Jersey http://www.official49ersnflauthenticshop.com/garry-gilliam-stitched-jersey/ . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. DeForest Buckner Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Womens 49ers Jerseys . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia Eagles are back to pointing to the future.They entered the season as a rebuilding team with a rookie quarterback and low expectations. A 3-0 start changed everything and put playoffs in the conversation.But the Eagles have lost six of eight and suddenly theyre thinking about next season and beyond, even though theyre mathematically still in contention.I do think were heading in the right direction, coach Doug Pederson said Tuesday, a day after a 27-13 loss to Green Bay .We have a process. Were going to stick with that process and that routine. You look back on seasons like this and some of the close games that we were in and you learn from them and it puts you in better positions in the future. So we just continue the journey, continue the process.The Packers (5-6) came to Philadelphia reeling. They had lost four straight games and no team had defeated the Eagles in their house. But Green Bay has No. 12 and Aaron Rodgers was spectacular .Meanwhile, Carson Wentz and a mediocre supporting cast couldnt keep up. It didnt help that the defense couldnt make any stops, allowing the Packers to convert 11 of 15 on third and fourth downs.These Eagles cant win shootouts. Not with Wentz learning on the job. Not without any real playmakers on offense.Definitely not with No. 1 running back Ryan Mathews sidelined and No. 1 receiver Jordan Matthews missing most of the second half.These young guys are getting valuable, valuable reps, Pederson said. It may not show on the scoreboard and it may not show with the wins and losses. I totally get that. Were in this business to win games. Thats why were here.But at the same time, I look aat the process.ddddddddddddI look at the plan. I use those words because those are words that we use around here because there is a plan and there is a process. You build your team through the draft. You pick up a couple good free agents in the offseason. You continue to work. You watch these young kids develop and turn into ball players and you see the potential.Pederson took over a 7-9 team that had regressed under Chip Kelly. Wentz was drafted with the second overall pick to be the franchise quarterback, but he didnt get the starting job until Sam Bradford was traded eight days before the season opener.With Bradford, the Eagles werent expected to go anywhere. So, theyre ahead of schedule because Wentz has taken every snap.I look at how Seattle has built their team. I look how the Raiders have built their team, Pederson said. I look at the plan thats been in place for a lot of teams around the National Football League that are having success now in their third, fourth, seventh years.Thats the direction that were heading in. I see us three, four years down the road. I see us seven, eight years down the road having consistency that way and winning more of these games than not.Game notes Mathews (knee) is day to day. ... Matthews (ankle) is expected to be ready to play at Cincinnati next Sunday. ... RG Brandon Brooks also should return after missing the game with an illness.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP-RobMaaddi NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys From China NFL Jerseys From China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys NFL China Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys ' ' '