HOUSTON – Every team in sports has at least one good cop and one bad one. This year, Chicago Cubs bench coach Davey Martinez is playing the bad-guy role for his boss more than ever. Manager Joe Maddon is already a proponent of resting his starters, and combined with the huge lead they have in the division, it’s Martinez who is having tough conversations with players on a daily basis. He’s the guy to deliver the bad news -- they aren't playing the next day.

“My job is to take the brunt of it,” Martinez said Saturday morning. “I don’t want things to get back to Joe.”

But sometimes they do get back to Maddon, when a player wants to take his case up the chain of command. For example, last Tuesday afternoon Maddon announced that his first baseman would get the next night off against the Milwaukee Brewers. But after hitting two home runs Tuesday evening, Anthony Rizzo wanted back in on Wednesday.

“I knew there was going to be a discussion, and he said, ‘I’m really OK [not tired],’” Martinez recalled. “So I told him, ‘When Joe is done with the media, this is the discussion you need to have with him.’ He went in there and Joe put him in the lineup.”

Rizzo probably has a longer leash considering his status on the team, but what about the younger players? No starter has sat more than shortstop Addison Russell, who had Saturday off after not starting on Sept. 2 or 6 while the team had a day off on Sept. 8. In all, Russell has started 124 of 141 games this season.

“It’s not my first rodeo, but it’s close to it,” Russell said with a smile on Saturday morning. “I just have to take it [days off] whenever it’s given.”

Saturday’s off day surprised him considering he’s been off his feet so much lately. He took his case to Martinez but no further.

“There are some times where I’ll talk to Davey about days off like, ‘Hey, man, I just took the day off,’” Russell said. “Davey says, ‘Just take it. You play every day, just take it and relax.’”

Martinez confirmed the interaction, reminding everyone – including Russell – the shortstop has had some leg problems in the past. With a big lead and the presence of Javier Baez, there is simply no reason to risk anything, according to Martinez.

“You appreciate it because they want to play,” Martinez said. “But he gets it. With his prior history with his hamstring, I have to remind him, ‘Hey, we’re playing for a bigger purpose. We want to keep you fresh.’

“I have a great relationship with these guys and I try to be as brutally honest with these guys, and they get it. I don’t mind the pushback. I really don’t. It’s part of it.”

As for Maddon, he doesn’t mind having the tough conversations – Martinez is simply his first line of defense.

“It starts with him and ends with me,” Maddon said. “They’ll come and see me eventually, and when you give them the whole explanation they’re always good about it.”

Russell echoed Maddon’s thinking: “Joe has a plan set in his mind. I just take my days whenever I get them. I don’t see why not. ... Body feels good. I think they are being extra precautionary, which is completely fine.”

Maddon followed Rick Renteria and Dale Sveum as the Cubs' manager, and while Renteria wasn’t around long enough to develop a style, Sveum had an old-school feel to him. In other words, players were likely to get less rest with Sveum at the helm. Maddon is the complete opposite.

“Perfect example was last year,” Martinez said. “Anthony Rizzo says, ‘I want to play 162 games.’ All of a sudden we get to the playoffs and he said, ‘Man, I was tired.’ So I tell him, ‘Hey, take your days off. That’s why we’re in the position we’re in. Take them. Relax.’”

Rizzo talked his way into the lineup on Wednesday, but you can bet he’ll get a day off soon. Maddon usually has good reasons ready for the tough conversations. Last week he thought Rizzo’s bat looked a little slow – until he hit three home runs in two days. But a slow start to this weekend for the Cubs first baseman could possibly see him on the bench come Monday in St. Louis after the team takes a late Sunday night flight. There’s Maddon’s opening.

“We always get blowback from guys that want to play,” the manager said. “Part of our game is not walking or running away from difficult conversations. You have to have them. If you try to be disingenuous and create all these weird excuses why you’re doing something, that will never play.”