Astros’ shortstop Miguel Tejada has been charged with lying to congressional investigators about the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball.

Federal prosecutors accused Tejada of making misrepresentations to congressional staffers during an interview in a Baltimore hotel room focusing on the prevalence of steroids in the game.

The charge came in “a criminal information,” a document that can be filed only with the defendant’s consent and usually signals a plea deal is near. Tejada, who now plays for the Houston Astros, is scheduled to appear at 11 a.m. tomorrow in U.S. District Court in Washington, court officials said.
Prosecutors did not charge Tejada with lying about allegations concerning his own steroids use.

Instead, they accuse Tejada of giving false statements to congressional staffers about his conversations with another player about steroids and human growth hormone.

Tejada faces a maximum penalty of a year in jail, but advisory sentencing guidelines call for a sentence of probation to six months behind bars.

These federal investigators don’t f-around. They’ve nailed Tejada, Michael Vick and are presumably zeroing in on Barry Bonds. It’s almost kind of comical that these athletes think they can lie to federal investigators the way they do fans and reporters.