Paul Sullivan: Enjoy watching Javier Baez while you can, Cubs fans, because nothing is promised in baseball

GOODYEAR, Ariz. - Former Cubs manager Joe Maddon frequently expounded on the evils of "outcome bias," or concluding the outcome of an occurrence if one thing happened rather than another.

"Outcome bias messes with a lot of people's heads," Maddon once said.

That might be the case, but is it wrong to believe the Cubs' 2019 collapse might not have happened had Javier Baez been available for the stretch run in September?

Baez suffered a hairline fracture in his left thumb while sliding headfirst into second base Sept. 1 at Wrigley Field, when the Cubs were three games