Somebody keeps whispering in Noah Lowry's ear, and it's not like he's hearing voices. It's his own body doing the talking.

As the Giants pitcher begins winter workouts in San Diego with fellow hurler Kevin Correia, Lowry gets constant sensory alerts from his athletically tuned body, telling him something is fatigued, something is sore, something -- maybe a muscle or tendon -- is getting stronger.

The 25-year-old left-hander has learned to listen.

Lowry admits losing about seven pounds from his 209-pound frame during the season, small wonder considering he threw 204 2/3 innings -- the most of his pro career -- over 33 starts, being the lone starter not to miss a turn.

It took its toll, as Lowry realized soon after the season ended. It did end on a strong note, as the second-year Major Leaguer had a boffo second half with an 8-4 record and 2.43 ERA, including a magnificent 5-0 record and 0.69 ERA in August.

But after being home for a few days, his body was virtually yelling at him to take it easy.

"There's a lot of mental strain and physical strain on your body and you just learn to play through the aches and pains," said Lowry. "Your body realizes what's going on, so you need time off. You're pretty sore for a while as your body shuts down and tries to recuperate."

Some observers might feel that playing a three-hour game every day shouldn't be that demanding, but for Lowry and his San Francisco teammates, there are pregame drills and batting practice, in-the-cage workouts and often postgame weightlifting, with a normal day stretching from 2 p.m. to around 11 p.m.

That's why ballplayers seem to be constantly wolfing down food. They need that energy yet still lose weight.

"You're always burning calories," said Lowry, who began throwing with Correia this week, starting off from about 60 feet and tossing every other day at about 50 percent, just trying to get the arm motion back.

Cardio workouts and weightlifting six days a week for about two hours complete the current routine, all geared to keep the body in tune and preparing for six weeks of Spring Training beginning in mid-February.

"Right now I want to come in the spring healthy and ready to go for Opening Day," said Lowry, expected to be part of the rotation featuring Jason Schmidt, Matt Cain and possibly Brett Tomko, with Brad Hennessey and Correia contending.

While Lowry won 13 games last season, he also lost 13 thanks to first-half problems regarding pitch location and consistency in the zone. Initially, his vaunted changeup was up and he fought the usual pitcher's battle of not having all his pitches working.

Lowry paid the price, logging a 5-9 mark and 5.07 ERA before the All-Star break.

Then everything finally, belatedly, began to click.

"You learn to use every inch of what you have whether your stuff is good that day or bad that day." said Lowry. "Some days it's only going to be one, then all four pitches -- it's a constant battle, making adjustments.

"I relied on my changeup too much and that was something I needed to learn. I had gotten away from my curve I used a couple years back and threw my slider more after the midway point."

During that glorious August, Lowry had a magic touch every day. Every pitch was on target or fooled the batters, and he credited catcher Mike Matheny with calling perfect games.

If there was a lesson learned, it was preparing every fifth day to give everything he had. No more, no less.

"Pitching is a different game," he said. "You prepare yourself and work hard to leave it all out on the field, regardless of the result. I did everything I could to win the game. That's my approach."

Lowry made it look easy in his rookie year, as he went 6-0 with a 3.82 ERA over 16 games in 2004. This season was a psychological jolt, but the lefty survived and looks forward to a solid third year.

"You try to take the positives out of everything," he said. "Baseball is a game of negatives. On the year I had a decent ERA -- I wanted to get below 4.00 -- and threw a lot of innings.

"This year I want to cut down on losses and walks and throw fewer pitches."

And pay attention to what his body tells him.