Touch 'Em All: Cards honor 'rally squirrel'

The case of United States v. William R. Clemens was set to return to court in Washington on Monday with the start of jury selection in the second attempt by the government to prove that the seven-time Cy Young Award-winning pitcher lied when he denied, in an appearance before Congress in 2008, using steroids and human growth hormone.

Some of the jurors in the first trial thought that trying the case a second time would be "a waste of taxpayers' money at a time when we have significant fiscal problems in our country," Walton told both sides last September, according to a newly discovered transcript.

Clemens, the first righthander to win 350 games in the lively ball era, would be a first-ballot Hall of Famer without the perjury charges. Now, his election is in doubt.

Hardball

Cleveland's Chris Perez defended his words in a tweet sent Saturday night, after the Indians beat the Royals, 11-9, in 10 innings in a game that featured two bench-clearing incidents after players were hit by pitches.

Perez closed a tweet with: "P.S. You hit us, we hit you. Period."

Asked about it, the Tribe closer said, "It's the same as when I'm talking to you. I'm not afraid to say what I believe."

Contact Don McKee at dmckee@phillynews.com.

This article contains information from the Associated Press.