If it weren't for that messed-up foul ball, the Cubs would have been in the World Series. The team became totally distracted by the play.
Well, there was also the fact that Baker never thought Prior would fall apart. There were signs that this was happening but Baker missed it and then brought Farnsworth into the game without letting him get warmed up (which led to the Marlins scoring eight runs total in the inning). Alex Gonzalez' error didn't help either. It stunk. The Cubs should be, at the very least, defending their NL Championship this year. They have a good team. Much better than the Astros, I think. 2005 will be a different story.
But that was Game 6. What was the excuse for Game 7? I blame Dusty Baker for the Cubs' current state, as well as for last year -- he has encouraged these players to whine and moan and blame everything else but themselves when they mess up. The Cubs players seemed more concerned about an announcer criticizing them than they did about making the playoffs.