Giant Trainer Called to Testify

The trainer for the San Francisco Giants was told to appear before a federal grand jury investigating whether Barry Bonds lied about his connection to the BALCO steroids scandal, a newspaper reported.

Stan Conte, who is not related to BALCO owner Victor Conte, was subpoenaed to appear in a San Francisco federal courtroom April 27, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday, citing three anonymous sources familiar with the investigation.

Conte is scheduled to appear before the grand jury on the same day as Bonds’ orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Arthur Ting. The grand jury subpoenaed Ting’s medical records related to Bonds a year ago, the Chronicle reported.

The panel has been hearing testimony for more than a month about whether the outfielder lied to a separate grand jury in December 2003 about his connection to BALCO.

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Mark Gravesend was released from jail without bail after throwing what looked like a toothpaste tube at Bonds during a game in Phoenix on Monday.

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Arizona Diamondback minor league pitcher Angel Rocha was suspended for 100 games, the toughest penalty baseball has levied for a positive steroids test.

Four players were suspended for 50 games each for testing positive: Angel pitcher Karl Gelinas, New York Met pitcher Jorge Reyes, St. Louis outfielder Yonathan Sivira and San Diego pitcher Matthew Varner.

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Washington National General Manager Jim Bowden was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after allegedly running a stop sign while in Florida during his team’s series against the Marlins last weekend.

A Miami Beach police report said the 44-year-old Bowden refused to take a breath-alcohol test after he was stopped at 2:22 a.m. Monday.

An officer said he saw Bowden run the stop sign on Collins Avenue, a main thoroughfare in the South Beach neighborhood.

Under Florida’s implied consent law, refusal to submit to a breath test results in an automatic driver’s license suspension of at least six months.

Bowden’s arrest comes as baseball closes in on announcing a new owner for the former Montreal Expos. Atlanta sports executive Stan Kasten has joined the family of Ted Lerner in a bid to purchase the team, sources said, boosting the Lerners’ chances in what baseball insiders believe is a three-way race to buy the team for $450 million.

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The Baltimore Orioles recalled outfielder Val Majewski from triple-A Ottawa to replace David Newhan, who was put on the 15-day disabled list with a broken right leg.