Courtesy of Federal Prosecutors

A photo of a young Barry Bonds. Federal prosecutors introduced the photo as evidence in Bonds' perjury trial, which begins Monday.

Curious changes in Barry Bonds’ body -- including testimony that his head and feet grew while his testicles shrank -- will be detailed in federal court this week as the government seeks to prove that the Home Run King perjured himself by telling a grand jury that he never used steroids.

With Bonds’ trainer Greg Anderson still refusing to testify about how he allegedly provided the slugger with performance-enhancing drugs, prosecutors have been forced to cobble together a case that relies on tabloid-worthy evidence, the word of other ballplayers who claim knowledge regarding Bonds and steroids, a positive 2003 drug test and other evidence.

Legal experts were in disagreement over whether salacious tactics would work. Seven years after Bonds testified, the trial begins Monday morning with jury selection and is expected to last about three weeks.

“At a minimum, the prosecution almost has to apologize and give the impression that they just have to do it,” said William P. Keane, a partner at Farella Braun and Martel who fought steroid-related perjury charges against track coach Trevor Graham. “I think you have to think long and hard before kicking in the bedroom door and sharing that information.” 

But Keane also said that the government may not have a choice.

“They may be feeling like they have to use everything they have because of the hole blown in their case by losing the Anderson testimony,” he said.

The testimony concerning Bonds' testicular shrinkage and sexual performance problems will be catalogued by Bonds’ ex-mistress Kimberly Bell. Prosecutors are seeking to convince the jury that Bonds' physical changes were symptoms of steroid use and prove that he lied under oath.

Bell – who was with Bonds for ten years -- will testify about “bloating, acne on the shoulders and back, hair loss” and ‘roid rage, although last week Judge Susan Illston denied the use of voice mails in which Bonds spews profanities at his former paramour. In addition, representatives from Nike and Fila will testify about Bonds’ apparently changing shoe size. And the Giants’ clubhouse manager will testify about the change in Bonds’ hat size.

The Bonds defense team has characterized Bell as a gold-digging jilted mistress who posed for Playboy and contemplated writing a book about her relationship with Bonds.

Robert Talbot, a law professor at the University of San Francisco, said that this kind of evidence isn’t gratuitous in the Bonds case.

“They’re going to have experts testifying that this is what happens when you use steroids,” he said. “It’s almost like you have to use it.”  

But he said that Bonds’ lawyers might try to portray the government as desperate, relying upon sensational rather than substantive evidence, Talbot said. 

“They might say ‘it’s really offensive and it’s showing what a weak case the government has’ ” he said.

Courtesy of Federal Prosecutors

This picture will be used by prosecutors to show how Bonds bulked up after allegedly taking steroids

In trying cyclist Tammy Thomas for lying to a grand jury about her steroid use, federal prosecutors did not shy away from using embarrassing evidence. A drug tester testified that he came to Thomas’ door to find her shaving her face – the facial hair was a sign of drug use, the government said. Thomas was convicted of perjury, although she avoided jail time.

Allen Ruby, one of Bonds’ lawyers, has criticized the prosecutors for relying on Bell’s estimates of the size of Bonds’ genitalia. At a pretrial hearing, ESPN reported that Ruby questioned whether anyone could really measure testicular volume without the benefit of an Orchidometer, a sort of bracelet with differently-sized beads used by doctors to do just that. 

The government has introduced photos as evidence as well: Several showing a scrawny young ballplayer including one showing a nearly-naked Bonds with a porn-star moustache and a gold chain hanging on his bare chest. And then there are the photos of the beefed up Bonds.

Talbot said the physical changes are important for trying to prove that Bonds knew he was taking steroids. “If you see your body changing like that, he’s got to have some kind of alert that something’s happening." 

The government will also rely on testimony from several people – including some former ballplayers -- who Bonds allegedly told he was using steroids and a personal assistant who saw him being injected.

The trial will be sensational. The question is: will jurors be persuaded by the government’s case or will they think it’s junk?