SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Nomar Garciaparra wants to set the record straight again: He injured his Achilles’ tendon during spring training, not in any off-the-field activities before his final season with the Boston Red Sox.

Garciaparra, traded to the Chicago Cubs last week in a blockbuster four-team deal, came under scrutiny Thursday when the Boston Globe reported that team officials were told the star shortstop was hurt before spring training.

“I don’t even know what story they’re coming up with,” Garciaparra said Friday before the opener of the Cubs’ three-game series against the Giants.

“I’m curious as to what they’re saying. I hurt it in spring training, there’s no question about that. That’s when it happened. I was already a week and a half into spring training, everything was fine. … I got hurt, I got hit.”

Garciaparra repeatedly has said he was injured when struck by a ball in batting practice before an exhibition game March 5 against Northeastern at Fort Myers, Fla.

The injury kept Garciaparra out for two months, and rumors flew – including talk that he had hurt himself playing soccer.

Garciaparra frequently clashed with the Boston media, barely speaking to reporters for most of his final season – and though he didn’t acknowledge it, his feelings seemed hurt after the Red Sox’s offseason efforts to trade him while attempting to acquire Alex Rodriguez.

“You’re asking the wrong person,” Garciaparra said when asked why the unnamed sources would comment to the Globe about his injury.

Players who get injured with reckless off-field behavior infuriate clubs. During spring training in 2002, San Francisco’s Jeff Kent told the Giants he hurt his wrist while washing his truck, though others later claimed he was injured while riding a motorcycle.

Garciaparra hasn’t been completely healthy this season, but he is playing through the pain.

“You’re going to have to manage it at times,” he said. “I knew that coming in, but it’s doing OK. It’s doing well. It’s part of the communication, not only with the training staff, but myself.”