Bonds facing long odds to get case dismissed

Posted February 28, 2008 10:00 pm

Associated Press

Barry Bonds has little chance of having his perjury case dropped.

Bonds' lawyers were scheduled to ask U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston today to dismiss a federal indictment charging him with perjury and obstruction of justice for his grand jury testimony, in which he denied knowingly using illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

Bonds argues that prosecutors unfairly asked confusing, vague and ambiguous questions during his grand jury appearance in December 2003. The former San Francisco Giants star has pleaded not guilty. In court papers, he neither admits nor denies taking the drugs.

University of California-San Francisco law school professor Rory Little, a former federal prosecutor, and other legal experts said they would be shocked if Bonds succeeds in getting the case dismissed.

Torre wins spring debut: Joe Torre might have looked out of place wearing Los Angeles Dodgers blue. He was right at home as a winner. Even with several blown opportunities and some shoddy baserunning, the Dodgers made Torre's debut as their manager a success by scoring 3 runs in the ninth to beat the Atlanta Braves 5-4 at Vero Beach, Fla.

"For coming out of the box, I thought it was a good game for us," said Torre, who managed the Yankees for 12 years. "It was fun. This was the first time in 13 years I've had a different uniform on."

Around the horn: After only a half-season as their closer, Manny Corpas agreed to a four-year, $8,025,000 contract with the Colorado Rockies that could be worth up to $22,775,000, including escalators and team options for 2012 and 2013. … Base coaches in the big leagues will have to stick inside their boxes this season. Major League Baseball announced a few rule amendments Thursday, including one that came a season after Double-A coach Mike Coolbaugh was killed by a line drive to the neck. Starting this year, first- and third-base coaches must not cross the lines toward home plate or the field until batted balls pass them. Only then can they take up other spots to guide runners. … Players union leader Donald Fehr would consider approving blood testing for the human growth hormone if there was a valid, efficient procedure for determining its use over an extended period. Under baseball's collective-bargaining agreement, urine tests for performance-enhancing substances are administered, although HGH cannot be detected in current urine tests.