BASEBALL Tribe's rehab staff praised

Recovering players are keeping the quartet busy this spring.
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (AP) -- Four guys in Cleveland's training camp don't have a base hit or putout among them -- but all are guaranteed of playing a key role in the Indians' 2005 season.
They are Lonnie Soloff, Rick Jameyson, Tim Maxey and Jim Mehalik -- the Indians' four aces of the weight and exercise rooms.
"The training staff is amazing," said Jason Stanford, one of three Cleveland left-handers recovering from reconstructive elbow surgery. "They are with you every step of the way.
"This rehabilitation is the toughest thing I've ever encountered, but I have full faith in them. They've earned my trust. I know that if I put in the work they prescribe everything should go well."
Head athletic trainer Soloff and his assistant Jameyson, strength and conditioning coach Maxey and physical therapist Mehalik are especially busy this spring. The Indians have several players coming off injuries.
Arms monitored
Stanford, Brian Tallet and Billy Traber all had their elbows repaired and right-hander Bob Wickman is monitored daily after missing all of 2003 with the same procedure before coming back to pitch last July.
Outfielders Ryan Ludwick and Jody Gerut along with third baseman Aaron Boone are recovering from knee surgeries. Pitchers Paul Shuey (hip), Scott Sauerbeck and Jason Bere (shoulders) and DH Travis Hafner (elbow) are among others coming back from operations.
"I'm sort of the guinea pig," Shuey said. "I feel good, but who knows what's in store?"
Soloff said Shuey is one of only three or four athletes to have had his particular type of surgery.
But Shuey is not unique in his recovery. Like every player, he is on a program specifically tailored to individual needs.
"Fifteen years ago, a guy who had Jody's injury, he was in a cast for months," Soloff said. "That's what we thought was best. As sports medicine evolved, we found that you want immediate range of motion after the surgery."
ACL repaired
Gerut had a torn anterior cruciate ligament repaired Sept. 29 and was doing light exercises a few days later.
"Collectively, they decide when to push a guy and you have to trust their eyes are telling the truth," Gerut said. "Each time I progress to something new, I have no doubts. None.
"I picture myself doing whatever it is at full strength. If you have negative thoughts, more than likely you will falter."
Jameyson said that all players go through some form of physical therapy on a regular basis.
"It is just general maintenance," he said. "We have that with pitchers who need a general shoulder program to keep their arms going."
Maxey said players in good overall shape bounce back quicker from all ailments.
"We try to be proactive to help prevent them from getting hurt," he said.
"Most of the time, a guy with a strong set of muscles around a particular injury gets back on the field a lot sooner."
No guarantee
Jameyson said there is no guarantee that all the exercise in the world will abolish injuries.
"It doesn't prevent everything," he said. "We just hope we are heading off the majority of troubles."
Soloff is proud of the way many Indians players have taken on healthier habits.
"In addition to treatment and prevention, we also try to educate," he said.
"Jason Davis is eating better. Ronnie Belliard, C.C. Sabathia and especially Victor Martinez have more muscle tone. They are doing things that will prolong their careers."
As for recovering from injuries, however, Soloff said the best medicine is something that no trainer can administer.
"Healing is healing," he said. "It takes time."