PEORIA, Ariz. -- Jim Edmonds' 2007 season was so trying that he called the SWAT team for help this offseason. Fearing that his body could no longer do what he wanted when he wanted, yearning for more strength in his legs, and wanting to prove he could indeed play every day, Edmonds decided to change his offseason conditioning program.

Skeptical as he was, the Padres' new center fielder listened to the advice of ex-St. Louis Cardinals teammate Skip Schumacher and hired Dana Point-based trainer Jim Moss, a three-year veteran of the SWAT team for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

"Brutal," Edmonds said of the training program that uses sprint and speed work combined with weight training, martial arts and boxing.

"(Moss) told me most guys don't make it back for the third workout. We were running right away. The lifting was ridiculous. Every day I walked in, he shook his head like, 'I can't believe you're back.' …

"It was what I needed."

What Moss needed from Edmonds was a commitment. He openly questioned why a 37-year-old player with a World Series ring, nearing the end of his career, would put himself through a program "just shy of torture." He knew the program wouldn't benefit Edmonds unless he was willing to put everything he had into it.

So he tested Edmonds from the get-go.

"I did a lot of mind work on him early," Moss said. "I said, 'Aren't you ready to retire?' I made no bones about it. I tried to get him to tap out quickly, and there was zero quit in the guy. …

"It's hard to translate the intensity level."

It's easy to see why Edmonds thought such a stringent program was necessary.

The four-time All-Star and eight-time Gold Glove winner admits he pressed himself back into action too quickly last season. During the previous winter, Edmonds had foot and shoulder surgery that limited his spring training participation to the team's final three games. He wasn't fully healed and was nowhere near playing shape when the season started.

One day Edmonds was fine, and the next two he was not, the result of a pinched nerve in his back. But he pressed on, and his numbers slipped. He posted his lowest totals in batting average (.252), home runs (12) and RBIs (53) since he was limited to 55 games because of injury in 1999.

"It's frustrating when you can't do what you're capable of doing, and you know what you're capable of doing and just not doing it," Edmonds said. "It was a weird situation."

Just as Edmonds started getting healthy, the Cardinals began to reduce his playing time, and he could "see the writing on the wall." Edmonds became disenchanted, and after the season he asked St. Louis management to trade him to a team that needed a center fielder.

The predicament made Edmonds realize he needed a rigorous offseason training regimen, and that led him to Moss.

"It was really tough at the beginning, but he understood where I was coming from," Edmonds said. "A lot of guys at this point of their career would have said, 'I don't need to do this, this is not for me.' And I kept pushing myself to go back."

Count Moss among those in disbelief.

At one point, Moss instructed Edmonds to stop playing up his age. To quit with the pleas for leniency. To cease asking him to take it easy on him.

Moss, one of the younger members of his SWAT team, didn't want to buy into believing that he himself was old.

"I told him that just because we're 38 doesn't mean we're over the hill," Moss said. "We've got a lot to offer. … Most guys half his age quit, but his motivation level was unbelievable. He's a special case as far as I'm concerned."

Edmonds hopes the work will lead to a special season. He estimated that his leg strength has increased by 300 percent. He's also feeling faster and more agile.

"All I really wanted to do once I got healthy was show people I could play again," Edmonds said. "… Hopefully this will be the perfect opportunity. We'll see. The winter is not going to dictate how I play, but it will definitely help."

Contact staff writer Dan Hayes at dhayes@nctimes.com.