MASH Report (2/24/13)

• A report stated Ike Davis supposedly hid an oblique injury from the Mets because he was worried about his job.

Ike Davis concealed an oblique injury from Mets officials for most of last season because of bad timing and the fact he was struggling and didn’t want to surrender his spot in the lineup, the beleaguered first baseman told The Post on Sunday.

Ultimately, his season concluded on Aug. 31 in Washington when the oblique “popped,” but Davis’ issues with the muscle began in mid-May and got to the point he was ready to ask for a disabled-list stint.

It now looks like the author was making more of a story than was actually there.

“You made it look like an excuse,” Davis added, directly addressing the article’s author. “It’s an excuse. It shouldn’t have been a story anyway. … It’s just an overblown thing. Everyone has injuries and then 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. You always have injuries. And now it just looks bad.”

My end of season HURT rankings didn’t pick Davis up with an injury. His power was down (.129 ISO in 2013 compared to .235 in 2012), but his Contact% was the same around 74.5%. Dividing up his season at May 15th, here are his splits:

Season’s start to May 15th: .115 ISO, 30%
May 16th to Aug. 31st: .142 ISO, 24% K%

Davis had more power and less strikeouts after he supposedly hurt his oblique. Yep Ike, you did just suck.

• A soft mattress has taken out Matt Harrison’s fragile back and will keep him from starting the season with the Rangers.

About to return home for a further examination on the stiff back that sidelined him earlier in the week, Harrison said he now feels “100 percent,” but also acknowledged he’s likely to miss the opening day rotation because of setback that will cause him to miss at least 10 days of work. Harrison will see Rangers’ spine specialist Dr. Drew Dossett on Monday in Dallas.

Harrison, who had a pair of back surgeries last year to repair and stabilize a herniated disc, said he believed his recent bout of back stiffness was caused by a too-soft mattress in his spring rental home. He’s since switched beds in the house and the pain has abated. It’s also possible that not doing any pitching since switching beds has had an impact on how he feels, too.

The way the Rangers schedule is set up, however, Harrison might miss only one start. If he has no further setbacks the team could place him on the DL with about a week left in camp and then activate him for the third series of the year in Boston.

So is Harrison going to travel with a special mattress on the road or is his back going to hurt then. Maybe he should also watch out for comfy chairs. If a bed keeps taking him out, how will throwing a 100-pitch start affect him? I think all fantasy projections for him should max out at 25 starts.

• Jaime Garcia will miss at least a week to start the season. He will know more information today.

• Geovany Soto may not be ready for opening day after having foot surgery.

• Arodys Vizcaino of the Cubs is feeling 100% after hitting 97 to 98 mph with his fastball. He may end up being a dark horse pick for Saves. The one key for him will be not walking many batters. His 12% walk rate from his last season will not cut it.

• Jhoulys Chacin has an inflamed shoulder. More information on the extent of the injury will be available today.

• Chase Headley is also waiting for detailed news today on his strained calf.

• It is looking like Jurickson Profar may not be ready to start the season because of a shoulder issue.

Weird injury news

The doctor performing the the surgery on Broxton’s forearm had a career first, he broke two drill bits during the operation.

Players on or Probably on the DL to Start the 2014 Season

(*) 15 Day Disabled List
(**) 60 Day Disabled List
(***) 7 Day Concussion List
(****) Free Agent
Red colored entries are updates since last report.

Major League Report

On DL

Probably on DL

Minor League Report