March 14--Jon Lester will throw in a minor-league "B" game Tuesday instead of his scheduled Cactus League start against the Padres.
Clayton Richard will get the start instead for the Cubs.
Lester had a shaky first outing that included some fielding mistakes, but manager Joe Maddon said that had nothing to do with the decision, though he added, "I understand the question regarding Lester."
Maddon said it's just a matter of Lester "getting his work in" while allowing the Cubs to "see some of the other guys against the varsity competition, and ensure we stretch (Lester) out comfortably.
"It wasn't that he has to work on anything like throwing to the bases. That wasn't the motivation. Jake (Arrieta) will do the same thing. It's just to shield them from other teams seeing them."
Arrieta, who will start Monday against the Padres, will also throw in a minor-league game Saturday, skipping a Cactus League game against the Indians.
Hendricks watch: Kyle Hendricks struck out five A's over four shutout innings on Sunday, and four of the strikeouts came on changeups.
"It's been moving good and working good," Hendricks said. "It's one of those things I lost last year in the middle of the year when I got out of my mechanics. I just didn't have any depth on it, no angle. To see the depth and angle on it and get swings and misses, it's a good sign."
Hendricks, who has 11 strikeouts over nine innings, hasn't been named as the fifth starter, but chances are he will get the spot over Richard, Adam Warren, Trevor Cahill and Travis Wood, the swingmen being stretched out this spring.
"They stuck with me last year when I was struggling," Hendricks said. "They've reiterated to me that they have confidence, so that gives me confidence in return. (Maddon) trusts me to go out there and be myself. He doesn't want me to go out there and be somebody I'm not, which feels good."
Lineup puzzle: Addison Russell may be a leadoff man in the future, but Maddon said he isn't likely to flip-flop Russell and Dexter Fowler in the Nos. 9 and 1 holes.
"Dexter has a track record of 35 percent or higher getting on base," Maddon said. "Addison doesn't have that. You don't want to do that with (Russell) until he arrives at that point and becomes a more consistent on-base percentage guy. If he ever does, when he does, it would be a consideration."
