Who's ready for some fun? Barry Bonds' perjury case moving forward

It’s the Rob Sylvester weekend marathon. Hope you brought snacks.
By Rob Sylvester
Barry Bonds is set to go on trial in March to face a perjury count for allegedly lying to a grand jury in 2003 about his use of performance-enhancing steroids (so much for a speedy trial and all that), and the months leading up to it should be very interesting, if the trial witness list on Friday is any indication.
Set to take the stand when the case open in the spring are a number of former baseball players, including both Jason & Jeremy Giambi, Benito Santiago, Randy Velarde, and Armando Rios. Baseball players are known for having a tight-knit fraternity, and it’ll be interesting to see if anyone will go on oath that they ever witnessed or knew of Bonds taking steroids.

While the inclination to protect a former teammate may be strong, unless they each want to end up where Bonds is in seven years they should just tell the truth and be done with it.
Though it may be even more interesting to see if anyone pleads the 5th amendment — if any of those players only knew first-hand of Bonds’ use because they used it with him, they can abstain from answering on grounds of self-incrimination (I’m not a lawyer, just a fan of Law & Order).
However that’s a double-edged sword as pleading the 5th is often unfairly seen as an admission of guilt in the unofficial court of public opinion. What started as an investigation into one muscle-bound slugger could potentially embroil more former (and even current) MLB players as the case continues and information is made public (not as much of a worry for Jason Giambi, who already admitted his steroid use in 2003 and presumably sleeps easier at night because of it).
Does anyone still actually care whether Barry Bonds lied to a grand jury about steroids, though? Seven years is a long period of time and the general consciousness is not as Puritanical on this issue as it was then (see: Brent Musberger’s recent comments about pro players being allowed to use them). Let us know in the comments: do you care about the verdict in this case? Should Barry Bonds go to jail? Does any of this have any effect on the MLB record books, or your remembrance of baseball from that era? Is it “snitching” if another players confirms Bonds’ use?
The case won’t begin for another five months, but I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about it in the weeks to come, as the legacy of the most prolific home-run hitter in MLB history still seemingly hangs in the balance.
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Bonds trial witness list includes former players [Yahoo Sports]