Few people have any illusions about the character of baseball slugger Barry Bonds, whose steroid-induced home run records now are the source of so much embarrassment for Major League Baseball.

But in case there are any people still out there laboring under the illusion that Bonds has any capacity for shame or embarrassment his latest stunt should rectify that situation.

Bonds has directed his lawyer to file a lawsuit against the authors of "Game of Shadows," the book that documents the slugger's amazing consumption of performance enhancing drugs.

The lawsuit is nothing if not novel in its claim that any profits from the book should be denied from the publisher and the authors, San Francisco Chronicle reporters Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada, because they attribute much of their information to privileged grand jury transcripts.

"What we're saying is, 'Who are the real cheaters?' They are the one who are using these illegally obtained materials," said Bonds' lawyer Michael Rains.

This kind of outrageously bogus claim is why lawyers are often perceived negatively by the public.

Bonds, one of the many players who used steroids to boost his athletic performance, is a victim, not of his own bad judgment and venality but of the reporters who documented how he used illegal drugs to shatter time-honored records.

It's hard to imagine that this claim will go anywhere. But it will take time and money to address, so Bonds will get some satisfaction in that respect. But the whole thing is about as legitimate as Bonds' home run records.