Carlos Delgado told the New York Mets to take their last contract offer and "shove up it your asses," sources close to Delgado confirmed. Delgado, who signed finally with the Florida Marlins, had a more specific message for Omar Minaya, the Mets' general manager: "Quit stalking me like an obsessed woman, you psycho."

Minaya responded, "Carlos is just blowing off some steam. I'm still confident that we're in the running for his services."

Minaya confirmed that he continues to place calls with Delgado's agent, Irv Sherman, despite the slugger's having just signed a long-term deal with the Marlins. This constitutes tampering, a development Minaya downplayed when he said, "There's a lot of Puerto Ricans in New York. We feel Carlos will be very comfortable living here."

Minaya dismissed rumors he's been sending Puerto Rican hookers to Delgado's home in Toronto to weaken and seduce the first-baseman. "That's offensive and ridiculous. They're escorts," he clarified.

Agent Sherman, a New Jersey accountant and 6th-degree black belt in Shumatsu-Jijitsu-Michelle-Tai-Kwan-Doe, warned, "Omar better watch it. He's messing with my client's privacy and I don't like it. Only twice in my life have I had to make personal house calls, but Omar may need a visit."