When I began to pen this article, my goal was to make it one that dissected how strange it was that in 2015 (with great ramifications on 2016), Charlie Sly would accuse Ryan Howard of purchasing — and subsequently using — performance-enhancing drugs if he didn't do it. Howard, almost half a decade removed from being relevant on a national stage, just comes off as a strange target from someone who also accused Peyton Manning in the same Al Jazeera documentary.
But then it struck me: does it really matter if Howard took the banned substance Delta 2?
The first issue with the accusation against Howard is that Sly doesn't go into specifics in terms of a timeline of when he gave Howard the drugs.
Charlie Sly: I think maybe just some more explosiveness. He had a couple years where he had a ton of home-runs.
When Sly is discussing helping Peyton Manning recover from his neck surgery during his time at ''The Guyer Institute of Molecular Medicine'', the timeline is 2011, when Manning missed what turned to be his final season with the Indianapolis Colts.
The Phillies won a franchise record 102 games in 2011, behind a great rotation, not the elite offense that powered them to a World Series in 2008. Howard did hit 33 homeruns and drive in 116 RBI's that season, but it wasn't one of his best seasons. If after having some minor injury issues in 2010, and clearly taking a step back at the plate, he used PED's to attempt to extend his prime a couple seasons, then so be it. It's disappointing, but it doesn't necessarily taint his peak.
Even if you take things a step further and assume that Howard used performance-enhancing drugs from 2006-2010, a period in which he hit 229 homeruns and drove in north of 650 runs, you can still make a case that it doesn't really chance anything.
Howard will likely hit 400 plus homeruns before his career is over, but he's not a hall of famer. He's not close. So any accusations against Howard don't force Philadelphia into a debate for the next 20-25 years about how his candidacy is impacted.
As for his legacy with the Phillies, much like that of Carlos Ruiz, even if Howard did use performance-enhancing drugs for the most successful offensive portion of his career, not a whole lot changes. Howard is going to be one of the heroes that brought Philadelphia it's first baseball title in nearly three decades, is going to be the franchise's second greatest power hitter ever and will some day be inducted into the team's wall of fame.
Some people also seem to make the mistake of equating using performance-enhancing drugs with being a bad person. This probably stems from Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, the two most successful MLB stars accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, being generally viewed as very unlikeable people. However, if Howard made the mistake of using performance-enhancing drugs — if you view using them as a mistake — that doesn't change the positive way that he's carried himself throughout his tenure in Philadelphia and all the good that he has done in the community.
For some, this story still has many loose ends to be tied up for them to be able to form an educated opinion on whether Howard did or didn't use performance-enhancing drugs. The reality is that those loose ends will probably never be tied up, certainly not entirely, which will make it hard for some to form an opinion. So considering that him using, or not using, wouldn't really change anything, those fans can let themselves off the hook: it doesn't really matter.
Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) is the Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com, focusing on news and features.
