He's Him, and You're Not

Very sensational news out of San Francisco. As the world now knows, Barry Bonds was indicted on federal perjury charges this afternoon. This is the hook news sports writers around the country need to bash and trash Bonds in all of tomorrow's editions. Alas, the same journalistic corps that managed to overlook the entire baseball steroids scandal for a decade in Inspector Closeau like fashion - save for a few reporters at the San Francisco Chronicle - will surely get this all wrong too.
The same sports pages that can't crack NFL headquarters to learn what was really on the Patriots-spying tapes submitted to the league and subsequently destroyed, have no clue how politicized this administration's Department of Justice has become.
Why was Bonds indicted now, 3 months before the second grand jury was set to expire? It's doubtful there is any new evidence. And don't look to the newfound freedom of Bonds' trainer, Anderson, as an indication he flipped. He's been incarcerated for months now while the feds tried to get him to testify against Bonds. He's been released because now that the indictment has been filed, there is no reason to hold him any longer on the contempt citation. He only had 3 more months before he was going to be released anyway. I doubt all of the sudden he decided to talk at this point.
So long as Anderson doesn't testify against him - and even if he did Bonds' lawyers would destroy him as a credible witness given his shady past and plea in exchange for testimony - Bonds still has the fallback position that he thought Anderson was giving him something other than steroids - either topically, ingested, or injected. People are focusing on the "injected" language. It's moot so long as Barry maintains he didn't know it was steroids and Anderson doesn't contradict him. (And Anderson may not even be in a position to counter Barry's claims. These guys were smart enough to give Barry "plausible deniability" in this entire thing. I doubt there is any evidence that Anderson told Barry at any time, "i'm giving you steroids.")
The beauty of the Anderson-Bonds arrangement is that it also neatly helps explain the other news that the feds have Barry's balco blood tests which are positive for steroids. Again, same explanation. Anderson gave Bonds the injections. Barry didn't know they were steroids.
"Punish my unsavory trainer, not me. I'm as much a victim as anyone here," Bonds would declare.
But my larger point is my belief that federal prosecutors got a ton of pressure from main justice to not let the big fish get away in this entire steroids investigation. And let's face it, in the scheme of this entire situation indicting Bonds for perjury is a relatively minor offense. Like getting Al Capone for tax evasion. If perjury is the best charge the feds can come up with, I'm betting there isn't much to it.
There will be a trial. Everyone will get to feel vindicated in their belief Bonds cheated. Certainly Bonds reputation will go through the mud (but really at this point how much worse could it get).
Sports writers will get to pontificate about the sanctity of the game and justice being served. We'll have lots of column inches and talk shows devoted to the quaint notion of "innocent until proven guilty" and whether it is fair or wise for major league baseball to suspend Bonds based only on the charges  - and not on an as yet conviction. Used car salesman Bud Selig will sputter banalities and inanity about the integrity of the game, blah, blah, blah. About his surprise at the way Bonds, McGwire, and Sosa were able to hit home runs at such an unprecedented pace and distance throughout the 90s.
Bonds will sign a one year deal with the Pirates, the only team willing to take him with the pending trial and his tarnished reputation because of his history with the team. And he will be a major attendance draw at PNC Park.

And Bonds will be found innocent of the weak perjury charges.

And we will once again be reminded that he's Barry Bonds. And you're not.