Who would have thought that after five exhausting hours of testimony on Capitol Hill, the two biggest thorns in Roger Clemens' side would be his best friend and his former nanny?

That's perhaps the only definitive conclusion to be drawn after the embattled pitcher and his former personal trainer Brian McNamee appeared before the House Committee on Oversight and Government to argue over whether or not the former Yankees pitcher used performance enhancing drugs between 1998 and 2003.

It should have been a cut-and-dry affair: Either Clemens took steroids, meaning he committed perjury, or he's a law-abiding ballplayer, meaning McNamee did. There is no room for interpretation. Yet somehow, through countless unanswered questions, contradictions, and recants, neither McNamee nor Clemens managed to establish themselves as credible in any meaningful way.

Clemens, who grew more confident and self-assured as the day went on, honestly seemed to believe what he was saying, despite the fact that the thrust of his argument—"Nobody remembers anything correctly except for me!"—is not all that believable. His good friend Pettitte doesn't believe him. Rep. Elijah Cummings, his harshest critic all day, certainly doesn't believe him. Even his old nanny is now saying that she was with Roger's kids at the infamous Jose Canseco party—the one Clemens swears he didn't attend and discuss steroids with Canseco at. (Also interesting: the Republican panel members seemed completely on Clemens' side, while the Democratic members appeared to back McNamee. This might reflect Republicans' fealty to all things Texan and Democrats' support for people who sell drugs.)

On the other hand, it would be hard to conceive of a star witness with fewer red flags than Brian McNamee. While both Pettitte and Mitchell Report-checked former Yankee Chuck Knoblauch corroborated his testimony, the fact remains that he was drug-dealing police officer who lied to associates about having a Ph.D and lied to investigators about numerous aspects of his relationship to Clemens.

So what now? It's pretty clear that this will severely tarnish Clemens' career, to the point where his entrance into the Hall of Fame—a given last year—is no longer a sure thing. More indictments will come down. Perjury charges, perhaps against both Clemens and McNamee, may be filed.

On the bright side: Pitchers and catchers reported to spring training yesterday!