Jake Westbrook said he knew something was wrong last year.

He found a way to keep starting games, but there were problems in his elbow . . . pain . . . irritation . . . more pain. Those problems peaked in May, when Westbrook learned the constant wear and tear had done in his ulnar collateral ligament.

''It's not normal to throw a baseball,'' Westbrook said this past week. ''Over time, it got weaker and weaker and was tearing more and more.''

Consider the stress placed on a pitcher's arm.

In a recent story about Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants, Sports Illustrated wrote that doctors at the American Sports Medicine Institute determined a pitcher's shoulder rotates at 7,000 degrees per second — the fastest measured human motion.

The story also said that the shoulder and elbow bear 40 pounds of force, just less than the maximum amount a body can take. (They determined it, SI wrote, by doing tests on the bones and elbows of cadavers.)

There are more facts that make a person wonder why any elbow would not wear down the way Westbrook's did.

There was no one pitch that blew his out, just stress upon stress upon stress. It seems it was only a matter of time.

''Last year and this year, my arm's been bugging me, and I just kind of found a good routine, a good spot to where I could maintain and still go out there and pitch,'' Westbrook said. ''I think over time, it got too much for me to handle and it wasn't bouncing back those four days between starts.''

The result: Tommy John surgery, which used to be among the most dreaded procedures in baseball.

The surgery — named after the former pitcher who first had it in 1979 — involves taking a tendon from the body (usually the forearm or wrist) and putting it in place of the elbow ligament.

It is attached through holes drilled into the ulna and humerus bones.

Yes, the thought can make a person cringe.

But more than 75 pitchers in the major leagues today are there because they had Tommy John surgery.

''The success rate is pretty good,'' Westbrook said, ''and hopefully I'll be in that percentage.''

Westbrook has run the emotional gamut, from hoping against hope he would not need the surgery to the emotional downer of having Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles confirm the need when he went for a second opinion.

That led to days of despondency, but Westbrook said he remembered flipping a switch in his mind that it was time to stop being disappointed and start focusing on what needed to be done.

''After a few days I was kind of ready to have the surgery,'' he said. ''Let's go ahead and start the process. That switch flipped on and I said, 'I'm ready to do what needs to be done.' ''

The recovery process is long, arduous and tedious. Did we say it will be long?

''I've already kind of got that drilled into my head,'' Westbrook said, meaning in a perverse way a successful return requires having the elbow and head drilled.

A year is a safe estimate for a return, and rushing the comeback dooms it.

Westbrook said his arm was in a light splint for 10 days after the surgery June 12. He said he now is working with light weights.

He will not start throwing — and that's light tosses — until three to six months after the surgery.

Westbrook has talked to outfielder Shin-Soo Choo and pitcher Paul Byrd, both of whom had the surgery. They told him patience is key.

Westbrook said that six to eight months into the rehab, he will feel like his elbow has recovered. But it will need more strengthening.

''That's where you have to be real patient with it, because you feel so good you want to go out there and do everything,'' he said. ''You still need to give it time and let it heal.''

The success rate has risen to 85 percent — mainly because of a greater understanding of what it takes to rehab and come back from the procedure.

Think about it, though, and it's almost an oxymoronic situation.

Pitchers do a stressful, repetitive motion — remember Westbrook admitted it is not normal — that causes serious damage to an arm. Then they repair the arm to go right back out and do what caused the problem in the first place. It's what they do, though.

''And I've been pitching for a while now with some discomfort,'' he said. ''Hopefully this will take care of that.''

BROWNS
Edwards is a standout
among 2005 top 10 picks

The 2005 NFL Draft was the first for General Manager Phil Savage in Cleveland.

He took wide receiver Braylon Edwards with the third overall pick. He did not stretch, reach or try to talk himself into something.

He did the logical thing and took the best player available at that spot.

Here's who else was selected in the top 10 in 2005:

1. The San Francisco 49ers took quarterback Alex Smith. Smith has 30 starts in three years and an overall quarterback rating of 63.5. Derek Anderson's rating is 78.9.

2. The Miami Dolphins took running back Ronnie Brown, who has been good but not great with 2,517 yards in three years.

3. Edwards.

4. The Chicago Bears took running back Cedric Benson, who was released this offseason after doing next to nothing. This pick can officially be called a bust.

5. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took running back Cadillac Williams. He had a strong rookie season but his career is in question because of a serious knee injury.

6. The Tennessee Titans took defensive back Adam (no longer ''Pacman'') Jones. Great talent, but just a little trouble off the field. He's now with the Dallas Cowboys. Call this a bust for the Titans.

7. The Minnesota Vikings took wide receiver Troy Williamson. He's now with the Jacksonville Jaguars after catching 24, 37 and 18 passes his first three years. Bust.

8. The Arizona Cardinals took cornerback Antrel Rolle, who will start this season at free safety. He was moved from corner in the offseason after hurting his knee a year ago.

9. The Washington Redskins took defensive back Carlos Rogers, who has been a good player for the Redskins. He's not a superstar, but he's come along fairly well.

10. The Detroit Lions took receiver Mike Williams. Major bust for the Lions of Bensonian proportions.

By any objective evaluation, the top 10 of 2005 to this point in their NFL careers include one legitimate standout player — and that's Edwards.

Jones was outstanding when he played, but he's not much help if he's suspended after being involved in strip-club shootings that leave a man paralyzed. You want that baggage?

The top 10 include four busts (for the teams that drafted them). A top 10 pick simply has to make it.

The Browns' draft beyond the second round in 2005 isn't exactly sterling — Charlie Frye, Antonio Perkins, David McMillan, Nick Speegle, Andrew Huffman and Jon Dunn.

But when a team picks in the top 10, it can't out-think itself. It must come up with a player.

The Browns did just that on both counts.

And it's a big reason there is so much excitement around town as training camp gets set to start this week.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

• I keep hearing talk about Ron Artest possibly coming to the Cavaliers in a trade.

Right.

Maybe the Cavs will bring back McCoy McLemore, too.

Remember McLemore? An original Cav, along with Butch Beard, Don Ohl, Luther Rackley and Johnny Egan. That team won 15 games in 1970-71. But it had the ambience and atmosphere of the old Cleveland Arena.

Alas, we digress.

Does anyone remember when Artest got into that brawl in Detroit, that led to his going in the stands? There was an assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers who went into the stands trying to drag Artest out. Guy by the name of Mike Brown.

He's now the Cavs coach.

And the guy who got into it first with Artest, that started the whole thing? Guy by the name of Ben Wallace.

He's on the Cavs now, too.

For some reason, I just don't see the Cavs doing a lot to try to acquire Artest.

Watch that video again and Brown looks like a pinball as he does his best Mills Lane imitation to try to stop the many fights that were taking place. It's no wonder he doesn't like to talk much about it.

• James Posey got $25 million from the New Orleans Hornets. Posey has not averaged more than 30 minutes per game in six years and has a career scoring average of 9.2 points per game. He's a good backup, good 3-point shooter and good defender, which would have made him attractive in Cleveland, but four years and $25 million is a lot for a role player.

That being said, for the right price, Posey would have looked good on the Cavs.

Just not sure whether $25 million for four years for a guy who's 31 was the right price.

• Hard to fathom another year of the ESPYs has come and gone.

What will we all do for the next 350-some days without them?

• In past times, it seemed that NFL training camp was about one or more guys making a name for themselves, coming from a late-round draft pick to earn a starting spot.

That does not seem to happen much these days. Starting lineups seem pretty much set, and except for the usual camp injury, not much seems to change.

Not sure what that has to do with the Browns of 2008, but it's a thought.

• Just like this thought: Why have so many Japanese beetles taken over my trees?

• Key questions regarding the Browns for me are the same as the key questions for everyone: cornerback and receiver. And cornerback seems less potentially problematic than receiver.

Donte Stallworth seems to have used up his goodwill in New Orleans, left Philadelphia after a year and was not starting for the New England Patriots at the end of last season. McCoy McLemore beat him out.

• Savage admitted the severity of the concern over Joe Jurevicius' knee injury this past week. Might start the year on the physically-unable-to-perform list.

It'd be surprising if Jurevicius plays, to be honest. Which means the team has to find a third receiver.

Here's how many legitimate third receivers are on the roster: zero.

Though Joshua Cribbs has not disappointed in anything he's been asked to do.

Seems to me Cribbs would be an excellent backup running back. Imagine him carrying the ball or catching it on third down out of the backfield. Imagine him landing the plane in the movie Airplane.

Kellen Winslow remains the wild card with the third receiver situation. His ability to move outside and line up in the slot does give the Browns a bit of a security blanket with Jurevicius sidelined.

• Young teams need a lot of practice time. It's usually the reason given when coaches schedule 42 two-a-days in 17 days of camp. The Browns have a team that's grown together, and it was a bit surprising that Romeo Crennel scheduled 28 practices in 19 days.

That should have a lot of guys huffing and puffing.

• Eric Wedge's solution for extra-inning All-Star games: Play nine innings and then perhaps do a coin flip to determine home field for the World Series if need be.

Wedge admitted it's a tough situation with pitchers who should not be pitching being forced into the game in extra innings. As Wedge said, nobody should ''be put in harm's way.''

Here's a novel idea: Steal a page from soccer and hockey. Play nine innings and pick nine guys for a home run derby. Each guy gets two swings. Most home runs wins home field in the World Series.

Yes, it's ridiculous, but not more ridiculous than an All-Star Game determining the site of the seventh game of the World Series. You want to talk ridiculous, now that is as ridiculous as the Clapper.

And 15-inning All-Star games that end at 1:50 in the morning are even more ridiculous. Why don't sports just start their events at midnight and save us the trouble of deciding whether to stay awake or go to sleep when they drone on incessantly for hours through 18-minute commercial breaks?

It's also no more ridiculous than soccer and hockey shootouts. The World Cup and Olympic hockey gold medal could actually be decided by a shootout, or whatever it's called, for crying out loud. Nine innings plus a home run derby might actually make that absurd home run stuff more meaningful.

• A couple of wise readers pointed out that I had the wrong guy last week when I wrote about the Oakland Athletics ruining Gaylord Perry's consecutive-win streak back in 1974. I wrote George Hendrick. Actually it was Claudell Washington. Thank you for that information, George Rosin and others.

McCoy McLemore did not play in the game.

• The new Batman movie?

Definitely worth the hype. Wow.

Heath Ledger? Holy gold statue, folks. What a creepy but fascinating performance.

Until next time . . . there you have it.