Steroids, lies and orchidometers.

That was the story line of the first week of home run king Barry Bonds' perjury trial. And as the case moves into its second week of trial, the evidence so far is a curious and combustible mix of ingredients that should leave legal prognosticators unsure of what's next.

So far, the prosecution has put on two witnesses, including an internationally renowned anti-doping expert who may be lost in the sensational clutter of the trial of a baseball legend. But the testimony of Steve Hoskins, a childhood friend of Bonds' who was a part of his inner circle for a decade, may be the best indicator of how this closely watched trial may move forward.

"Steve Hoskins is a good example of how this case is expected to unfold, with both sides scoring points on each witness," said William Keane, a former federal prosecutor who represented track coach Trevor Graham against false statement charges in the same BALCO investigation that snagged Bonds.

The trial resumes Monday with arguably its most glamorous witness: Kimberly Bell, Bonds' former mistress, who will follow two federal agents expected to testify on several technical issues before she takes the stand. Bell will be followed by two other key government witnesses, former Giants trainer Stan Conte and Steve Hoskins' sister, Kathy, who served as Bonds' personal shopper. She is expected to describe one instance when she saw Bonds injected with steroids by his former personal trainer, Greg Anderson.


Anderson, of course, is the apparition in the trial. He is now in jail, again, for refusing to testify against Bonds, and he has become the central figure in the drama over whether the former Giant knew he was taking steroids when he told a grand jury under oath that he did not. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston held Anderson in contempt and put him behind bars on the first day of trial.

Bonds, 46, faces four counts of perjury and one count of obstructing justice for allegedly lying to a federal grand jury in December 2003 about using steroids. With the trial in full swing, the question for the jury is this: Can the government prove Bonds was intentionally lying to the panel probing the sprawling BALCO steroids scandal? Or will Bonds' defense convince the jury ﻿he did not know the newfangled substances he was taking were performance enhancing drugs?

The first week of trial offered the following highlights to exemplify that conflict:

  • Prosecutor Matthew Parrella described Bonds, BALCO mastermind Victor Conte and Anderson as the "Three Musketeers of BALCO," the Peninsula lab at the center of the largest sports doping scandal in history.

  • Allen Ruby, Bonds' lead lawyer, basically dismissed the idea that Bonds knew that what he was taking from Anderson in 2003 was steroids. "It's not much of a made-for-TV movie," he told the jury.

  • Hoskins spent an eventful day on the witness stand. He told jurors he knew of Bonds' steroid use as early as 1999, consulted with the slugger's personal doctor about steroid use he considered "out of control," and stashed cash payments for Bonds' mistresses. He also testified that Bonds told him steroids shots "hurt his butt."

    In Hoskins' day on the witness stand, he was all over the place on statements he's made over time about what he knew about Bonds' steroid use and confronted the fact that Bonds basically fired him as a business associate -- and friend -- for believing Hoskins defrauded him. Bonds' attorneys also pointed out that the breakup occurred right about the time Hoskins started gathering evidence against Bonds for the government.

  • The jury heard part of a conversation that Hoskins said he taped with Anderson to use as evidence so Bonds' father would understand his son was using performance-enhancing drugs.

    Prosecutors insist that the muddled tape, which does include an apparent exchange about Anderson moving his steroids shots around on Bonds, is solid proof. But defense lawyers say it is a muffled example of Hoskins trying to extort Bonds.

  • Larry Bowers, a leading anti-doping expert, testified about the side effects of steroids, which prosecutors plan to link to the physical changes they say Bonds underwent between 1999 and 2003. One of those physical changes is purported to be the shrinkage of testicles, which Bonds' lawyers insist can be measured only with an instrument called an orchidometer, which measures testicle size.

    Ruby asked Bowers about the topic. He replied that he's not an expert.

    When Bell takes the stand Monday, she's expected to be asked about the change. That will be one of the many moments to watch in the trial's second week.

    Contact Howard Mintz at 408-286-0236.