PEORIA, Ariz. -- It happens every spring. And every spring, Chris Young panics.
"I feel real good right now," Young said after working two innings for the Padres in Tuesday's 5-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"I built up my pitch count a little bit, went two innings and will go three next time."
But Young knows the dead-arm stage is coming.
"It usually hits me around the third start or the third week of camp," Young said. "And there is always a little panic.
"At that point, there are only two weeks before games start for real, and you wonder if you'll be OK.
"But I always am."
This spring is a little different, though.
Because of the World Baseball Classic, spring camps are a week longer and teams have multiple days off. The pace is a little slower.
"Normally, my first start is two innings and my second is three," said Young, who noted he also hits a dead-arm stage in June or July.
"Each pitcher is different. Everybody's pace is different."
Jake Peavy explained that he bases his progress on pitch count. Young bases progress on the number of innings he throws.
"For me, it's the up and down between innings," Young said. "I need the heat and cold. This is the first time since last year that I've pitched after sitting down.
"It's not about pitch count right now, but that up and down, hot and cold.
"Eventually, we'll do that five, six, seven times before we start the season, and we'll be ready to go."
Ring that Bell
Padres manager Bud Black isn't upset that closer Heath Bell left the team to join Team USA's roster for the World Baseball Classic.
"It's a great opportunity for Heath to rub shoulders with those guys," Black said. "It's a feather in his cap as well as the Padres'."
Asked if he was afraid the excitable Bell would over-exert himself if he's called into a game in a tight situation, Black said, "We're used to Heath going overboard.
"Honestly, though, he has done all his work here, made all his training sessions, done everything asked of him.
"I have great faith in the WBC coaching staff and (pitching coach) Marcel Lachemann to do what's right for the USA team as well as our team."
After taking an overnight flight to Florida on Monday, Bell struck out the side Tuesday for Team USA in a 6-5 win over the Yankees in Tampa.
TV debut
Mark Neely makes his debut as Channel 4's TV voice of the Padres on Saturday afternoon.
The 12:05 p.m. game is the first of five Padres spring games Channel 4 will broadcast.
The MLB Network has two Padres games -- March 20 against the Cubs and March 30 against the Indians.
Game notes
< The Dodgers got home runs from Mitch Jones and Blake DeWitt on Tuesday.
DeWitt, who played third and second for the Dodgers last season, started at shortstop against the Padres.
< Former Padre Mark Loretta started at second base for the Dodgers and had an RBI single. Loretta figures to be a backup infielder.
< Matt Antonelli had an infield single, a walk and two runs scored for the Padres. Kyle Blanks had a single and a double.
< Three of the Dodgers' runs, including DeWitt's homer, came in the sixth inning against rookie right-hander Gabe DeHoyos.
< Cla Meredith, Chris Britton, Ernesto Frieri, Will Inman and Mike Ekstrom threw a shutout inning apiece for the Padres.
Et cetera
RHP Matt Silva, who was invited to camp from the Mexican League, has a sore ankle and will be out five or six days, according to Black. Silva will throw a side session and a bullpen session before he makes his spring debut, Black said. … OF Brian Giles has a sore quad and probably won't play until at least the weekend. … 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff, who is coming off shoulder surgery, could start playing in the field within a week, Black said. … The Padres are off Wednesday. The team resumes play Thursday against the Rangers in Surprise.
Contact staff writer John Maffei at (760) 740-3547 or jmaffei@nctimes.com.
