You can bet Anderson and Conte will dodge Babo trial By Ken Gimblin and Joe Cronin August 7, 2010     SAN FRANCISCO--U.S.District Court Judge Susan Illston, Barry Bonds defense team and the U.S. Attorney's office have all agreed on the trial date of March 21st 2010, previously the trial was originally set to start on February 2009 that was changed when the prosecution was told that the evidence they wanted to use against Bonds was not being allowed since his personal trainer Greg Anderson refused to testify about his knowledge into the case. Bonds is being charged for 11 counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice. The government is going into the trial without use of the Anderson's records that he kept while training Bonds in 2003 and earlier which showed dates on the calenders when he injected Bonds with steroids and records from BALCO labs which showed positive tests that Bonds was actually using steroids. Bonds has made the claims during a grand jury trail in December of 2003 stating he was not aware of any steroid use when Anderson gave him creaming balms which he thought were for arthritis such as the Cream and the Clear. Without Anderson's testimony to counter such Bonds' claims the likelihood of the prosecution fusing such evidence is impossible and hence the decision of Judge Illston. The evidence that the prosecution hopes to use at trial is the testimony of former Bonds' girlfriend Kimberly Bell who was with Bonds for the 2002 baseball season when she claimed that Bonds told her he was using steroids, a former Anderson cell mate told the SF Weekly that Bell was told by Bonds that Bonds before a World Series game in 2002 had injected himself to the point that she had to take him to the hospital because his genitals blew up to the size of a coke can from steroid injections. Also the prosecution hopes to cross examine a cavalcade of ex-teammates of Bonds which includes former Giants Benito Santiago, Armando Rios, Marvin Bernard, A.J.Pierzynski, and Bobby Estalella. Estalella has testified that Bonds had told him in the Giants clubhouse that he was using steroids. The prosecution likely will also consider calling former Giants managing partner Peter Magowan to the stand who told Senator George Mitchell who was doing an investigation into steroid use for Major League Baseball that Bonds told Magowan that he was using steroids. Magowan two days later had his attorney call Mitchell to recant the testimony saying that he "misspoke" on Bonds steroids use. Also the prosecution is considering bringing Bonds former business manager Steve Hoskins in to testify. Hoskins was fired by Bonds when Bonds accused him of stealing and forging memorabilia which contained balls, cards, posters, bats and gloves to name a few items with Bonds signature on them. Bonds had called the FBI to investigate Hoskins for forgery and theft of items and in turn Hoskins agreed to cooperate in the investigation and testify that Bonds had told him while they were working together that he was using steroids. Meanwhile the prosecution more than likely will call former CEO and founder of Bay Area Laboratories Cooperative Victor Conte to the witness stand. Conte was jailed for steroid distribution after the Feds shut down the BALCO labs, Conte has said that he will not testify any further in the case and likely could take fifth amendment . Anderson who has been jailed twice for contempt of court for refusing to testify in the trial is the key witness figure in the case with most of the knowledge into the dates and procedures on how he administered the steroids to Bonds has stated that he will never testify against Bonds since he was already jailed for steroid distribution and made a deal with the feds. Anderson's attorney has said that this was double jeopardy since Anderson was already jailed once for distribution and had testified to doing so with the agreement that would settle his role in the case. Anderson had been called back after being jailed for distribution and argued a deal was a deal but prosecutors said his testimony was vital to prove Bonds perjured himself. Anderson claimed double jeopardy and was later jailed for refusing to testify. The prosecution can almost count him out for testimony although he more than likely will be called to testify and again take the fifth. Joe Cronin and Ken Gimblin are covering the Barry Bonds BALCO/steroids trial

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