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Cleared Howard glad PED probe is behind him

The successful month of August for Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard continued with the news on Friday that Major League Baseball found no violations during a seven-month investigation into a report that linked Howard and other athletes to performance-enhancing drugs.

The successful month of August for Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard continued with the news on Friday that Major League Baseball found no violations during a seven-month investigation into a report that linked Howard and other athletes to performance-enhancing drugs.

The athletes, including Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman, were the subject of the Al Jazeera documentary The Dark Side, with the statements made about Howard and Zimmerman coming from Indiana pharmacist Charles Sly.

Major League Baseball released this statement: "This thorough investigation did not find any violations of the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program by either Howard or Zimmerman."

MLB said both Howard and Zimmerman fully cooperated with the Office of the Commissioner's investigation. It also said that Sly did not agree to speak with the Commissioner's Office or provide requested information.

Howard made a brief comment on the matter before Friday's game at Citizen's Bank Park against the St. Louis Cardinals.

"The process is the process," Howard said. "For me, I am glad it is behind me, and I can move forward and focus on playing baseball."

Both Howard and Zimmerman sued Al Jazeera for defamation and have repeatedly denied the claims made in the report.

Earlier in the day, Howard released this statement through his agent: "I am glad that this part of the process has concluded, and I look forward to holding the responsible people accountable for these false and defamatory claims in my ongoing litigation against Al Jazeera and its reporters."

The 36-year-old Howard has enjoyed a recent resurgence. He entered the weekend batting .198 with 19 home runs, 43 RBIs and a .702 on-base-and-slugging percentage. His average was as low as .140 on June 21.

Since then, he has hit .314 with 9 home runs, 22 RBIs and a 1.045 OPS.

In August, he entered the weekend batting .419 (13 for 31) with five home runs, 13 RBIs and a 1.422 OPS in 33 plate appearances.

Howard has had to endure long stretches on the bench, but has seen more recent action while still sharing time with Tommy Joseph.

"I feel good. I am trying to stay focused on the task at hand, and it is one day at a time," Howard said. "I am not trying to do too much, but just enjoying my time out there."

He said the key this year has been to maintain a positive attitude, especially when he was regularly riding the bench.

"It hasn't been easy," Howard said. "You still try to find ways to get things done and go out there and contribute."

Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said that Howard's recent success is because he has been more selective at the plate.

"He doesn't seem to be expanding his strike zone as much as he has in the past," Mackanin said.

More impressive to the Phillies manager was the way Howard dealt with his earlier demotion.

"That is a huge credit to him for having gone through what he did the first half of the season, relegated to a part-time role. A guy of his stature to respond so professionally and take it in stride is huge," Mackanin said.

Howard is on the final year of a five-year, $125 million contract. There is a club option for $23 million with a $10 million buyout for next year.

He won't be in Philadelphia next year, and the question is whether a contender will be interested in him this year. In order to be eligible for the postseason, a player has to be on a team's active 25-man roster before Sept. 1. Asked before the game if he expected Howard to be in Philadelphia in September, general manager Matt Klentak replied, "Until somebody is not in our uniform, I always expect they're going to be here the next day."

mnarducci@phillynews.com

@sjnard