Everybody needs a friend like Greg Anderson, especially if you happen to be a retired home run king suspected of doping and charged with lying to a grand jury about it.

Anderson’s childhood friend and former boss, Barry Bonds, was back in court again Tuesday, pleading not guilty, again, knowing full well that Anderson would refuse to testify against him and as a result, wind up spending some time in jail — again.

Three years have passed since Bonds was originally charged with lying under oath, but almost seven have gone by since the two men first got caught in the government’s net during an investigation into the BALCO labs in California.

Anderson went to prison the first time in 2005, after pleading guilty to steroid distribution and money laundering tied to the BALCO operation, then twice more for refusing to tell the feds what he knows about

Bonds, whose next stay in jail — if it comes to that — will be his first.

On Tuesday, Anderson told U.S. District Judge Susan Illston he wouldn’t take the stand and when the case goes to trial March 21, he will be going back to jail for as long it lasts.