A federal judge made public Barry Bonds's grand jury testimony, revealing a previously unpublicized drug test from seven years ago that showed an elevated testosterone level.
US District Court Judge Susan Illston ordered prosecutors to amend Bonds's indictment so that each of the five counts against him don't cite multiple statements that prosecutors say are false.
Prosecutors originally accused Bonds of lying 19 different times during his grand jury appearance, and charged him with four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice.
Illston agreed with Bonds's attorney Dennis Riordan that prosecutors must edit out many of the alleged lies or seek a new indictment, which could contain more charges. Prosecutors are expected to decide whether to seek a new indictment before Bonds's next court date March 21. They declined comment outside court.
Bonds's 2003 grand jury testimony was extensively reported on by the San Francisco Chronicle in December 2004 and in the 2006 book "Game of Shadows," written by the reporters from the original newspaper account. However, yesterday was the first time the entire 152-page document was released.
Although the indictment discussed a November 2000 test that showed elevated testosterone and the Chronicle reporters wrote about a November 2001 test, the transcript revealed another sample that previously had not received attention.
A document labeled "BB" with Bonds's date of birth refers to a sample taken in January 2001 for testing by the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, according to federal prosecutors who questioned Bonds during his three-hour grand jury appearance.
In his appearance before the grand jury, Bonds said he didn't understand the results from the January 2001 test prosecutors showed him and then said "that some people may have more testosterone levels than others."
Meanwhile, Giants owner Peter Magowan revealed that he met with baseball commissioner Bud Selig about the club's prominent mention in the Mitchell Report but declined to give further details about the session.
Home run for Clemens
Roger Clemens was a no-show when Houston Astros minor leaguers went through drills at spring training in Kissimmee, Fla. The Rocket flew home to Houston instead of working with the prospects for a third straight day, said his son, Koby, a catcher in the Astros' system. Clemens departed the day after the FBI said it opened an investigation into whether he lied in sworn testimony about steroids. Astros owner Drayton McLane said he will honor Clemens's 10-year personal services contract despite the FBI's decision. McLane said that reports that he was reconsidering Clemens's contract because of his legal issues were "overstated." . . . Johan Santana threw 30 pitches, 22 for strikes, in his New York Mets debut, but gave up a three-run homer to St. Louis's Juan Gonzalez in Port St. Lucie, Fla. . . . Career strikeout leader Nolan Ryan agreed to a four-year contract in his new role as president of the Texas Rangers. General manager Jon Daniels's contract was extended by two years through the 2011 season, coinciding with the length of Ryan's deal . . . Oakland third baseman Eric Chavez will miss at least five days after receiving an injection to help ease inflammation in his lower back . . . Former Red Sox shortstop Alex Gonzalez has a compression fracture on his left knee and will be evaluated again in three weeks by the Reds. Gonzalez hit .272 with 16 homers and 55 RBIs in his first season with Cincinnati last year . . . Yankees broadcaster Bobby Murcer is scheduled to undergo a brain biopsy Monday in Houston. An MRI performed Tuesday showed an area of concern, which could be scar tissue or a tumor.
