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Ike Davis Confronts Reporter, Who Fires Back With Zinger On WFAN

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Ike Davis is taking issue with a report in the New York Post that says the embattled first baseman hid an oblique injury from Mets brass while he was struggling last season.

Davis addressed the issue from the team's spring training complex in Port St. Lucie on Monday, directly confronting Post reporter Mike Puma.

"You made it look like, you know, it's an excuse," Davis said. "That's not what the story -- it shouldn't have been a story anyway. Because that's what we talked about before you wrote it, was we shouldn't write this, because that doesn't matter. But that was nowhere in the article."

On Twitter, several beat reporters described Davis, whose quotes formed the basis of Puma's report, as appearing agitated. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com wrote that the infielder's teammates were "staring gape-mouthed" at the scene. Audio of the exchange quickly surfaced on MetsBlog.com.

"It's just an overblown thing," Davis said. "Everyone has injuries and they get hurt, so it was pointless to write an article. I sucked last year because I sucked. It's not because I had an injury."

Puma later appeared on WFAN's "Boomer & Carton" show to defend his account and fired back with a zinger.

"There's a joke in there somewhere -- if he takes a swing at me, he might miss," Puma said of Davis. "He's not happy. He's not happy with the story."

Mike Puma on Ike Davis

The Mets were reportedly looking for a trading partner after Davis' nightmarish 2013, when he endured a regular showering of boos at Citi Field.

The former first-round pick batted just .205 with nine home runs and 33 RBIs in 103 games last season. He was sent down to the minors in June and batted .364 in 10 games in Triple-A before being recalled in early July. After hitting .161 prior to his demotion, the 26-year-old hit .286 with a .449 on-base percentage in the second half. But the power never came, and he struck out 101 times in 317 at-bats.

Davis, who is gaining a reputation for slow starts and injury issues, will compete with Lucas Duda for the starting job at first base.

He was quoted in the Post saying of his injury, "the timing was bad and it was when I was getting sent down. It would have been a great time, but it looks bad and I just can't say that."

Neither general manager Sandy Alderson nor manager Terry Collins could recall learning of any issues with Davis' nagging oblique, Puma reported.

"Ike's a different bird," Puma said. "He's different."

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