Brooky: Howard's final camp is beginning of the end

CLEARWATER, Fla. - If you did not know any better and you had the ability to narrow your peripheral vision to the batting cage inside Bright House Field Monday morning, you could have mistaken the scene that unfolded as being a flashback to the good old days.

There was Ryan Howard at home plate, back at work and taking his first batting-practice swings of spring training. There was Charlie Manuel, arms folded as he perched behind the cage and watched his most treasured slugger.

Pan back and you could see the cluster of cameras still focused on the team's highest paid player, the former National League MVP who helped the Phillies win the 2008 World Series.

It was all a mirage, of course.

Oh, sure, that really was Howard in the cage and Manuel behind it, but nothing that once was is any more.

Howard's arrival for his 16th season with the Phillies drew attention just as it has for more than a decade. Truth is, however, that Howard has never come to camp as a less significant part of the team.

The Phillies still try to pretend otherwise.

"Ryan might have a big year this year and get another contract for all I know," manager Pete Mackanin said. "I'd like to see that happen because if that happens we're going to be a much better team."

Howard, 36, might have a big year, even though he has not had one since 2011, the last time the Phillies won a division title and finished better than .500. There is also a chance he will get another contract if he performs well, but it will not be offered by anyone in the Phillies' organization.

This is the end of the road for Howard in Philadelphia, and the only dramatic aspect of the ordeal is the controversy that has accompanied him to his final camp. Instead of making a graceful departure, he has been forced to defend his name against accusations made in a 2015 Al Jazeera America documentary that he and several other professional athletes were connected to a clinic that distributed human growth hormones and performance-enhancing drugs.

Denver's Peyton Manning was the biggest fish caught in the firestorm.

Howard and Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman responded to the accusations by filing defamation lawsuits in federal court. When he fields questions from the Philadelphia media for the first time on Tuesday, Howard is sure to be asked about the accusations and the lawsuit. In all likelihood, he will decline comment, although he did briefly make reference to it recently after being inducted into the Missouri State Hall of Fame.

"It's all garbage, but I can't really talk too much about that," Howard told the Springfield News-Leader. "It was a surprise. It's unfortunate."

The plot thickened Friday when the New York Daily News published a photo of Howard posing two years ago with the nephews of George Rucker, the owner of an anti-aging clinic in Bradenton, Fla., that distributes substances banned by Major League Baseball.

By the time this case goes to court, it is likely that Howard's time with the Phillies will be over, but there was also the report from Fox Sports in late December that Major League Baseball would investigate the accusations against Howard and Zimmerman.

At best, it's a messy situation for Howard to deal with in his final season with the Phillies. At worst, he could lose a significant amount of money if MLB's investigation comes to the conclusion that the Al Jazeera accusations were something more than "garbage."

Regardless, it is possible that Howard will have to deal with fan ridicule this season in much the same way Alex Rodriguez and other steroid users have in the past.

"I don't worry about it," Mackanin said. "He doesn't seem to be worried about it. If you're innocent you shouldn't have to worry about it. I don't have any other answer. I don't know anything about the issue."

Howard did not seem to be worried about much of anything on the first day of his final spring training with the Phillies. He playfully talked to the cameras that followed his every move and talked about all the "young bucks" in this camp.

After taking batting practice, he shifted to the half field just outside of the Phillies clubhouse and handled ground balls hit in his direction by Chris Truby, the organization's minor-league infield coordinator.

It was a light workout and when it was done, Ryan Howard got into his light blue Bentley and drove away. It was not a flashback to the good old days. It was simply the beginning of the end.

bbrookover@phillynews.com

@brookob