As this story has evolved and those who are charged with covering it continue to struggle with the issue, baseball pundits, journalists, fans and just about everyone else is shouting out their opinions. And in the aftermath of Tuesday’s Congressional Hearings investigating the use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in MLB, people from both sides of the issues are screaming out of turn in order to be seen and heard.

The vast majority of these folks are wrong. There are too many of these “types” to discuss and at the same time keep this item short, so I’ll start with the worst offenders.

There are know-nothing journalists like the guy from the Palm Beach Post who wrote a column titled, “Hearings not worth Hill of beans” (sic). If only this writer spent half as much time trying to understand the issue as he did thinking up this lame headline pun his readership would be better off.  And he'd be doing his job.

People like this writer shrug their shoulders and say “big deal.” People with this attitude are in large part responsible for the PED scandal. Journalists who didn't want to be bothered then, and don't want to be bothered now, with inconvenient tasks like critical thinking, intellectual honesty and the basic concept of “playing within the rules” should remain silent.

Any professional journalist aware of the testimony from Tuesday’s hearing that says the effort amounted to “a Hill of beans” is an embarrassment as they missed several huge moments. Here’s a recap for those who are too shallow, lazy or disinterested to pay attention.

A potential blockbuster featured Christopher Shays, a member of the United States House of Representatives, who proposed a change to federal labor law that would draw a distinction between testing for recreational drugs and drugs that are performance-enhancing, or “drugs for cheating.” According to legal experts this fundamental change in the labor laws of America is revolutionary and would remove the players’ union from any role in testing for PEDs. If Congress were to approve such a move, MLB would not have to bargain with the union for any change in the league’s drug-testing program.

This is a big deal and nobody should discount Capitol Hill’s willingness to get actively involved with any aspect of baseball’s attempts to clean house.