A’s beat: Graveman hones breaking ball.

GLENDALE, Ariz. — This is the time of year for a top-ofthe-rotation starter like Kendall Graveman to mess around with a few things he might not try during the regular season.

On Monday, in his first spring outing, Graveman threw a couple of his slurvy sliders in counts he generally wouldn’t.

Both of the harder-hit balls off Graveman in his two innings of work against the White Sox came on the slider.

“I threw it 3-2 for a strike to see where it was right now, and obviously that’s not something I’m going to do a lot during the season,” Graveman said of the pitch Tyler Saladino smacked for a hit in the first inning. He gave up one other hit in the second on the pitch.

Asked what the breaking pitch is exactly, Graveman said, “I don’t really know. Good question. Some days, it looks more like a curveball. Some days, it looks more like a slider. It’s a pitch that day by day I need to get the feel of and locate it better.”

Graveman has yet to throw a changeup to a right-hander, he said, but threw several to lefthanded hitters.

“I didn’t feel like there was an opportunity to move into that sequence, especially with 35 pitches,” he said. “Of course, it looks good in the bullpen. It looks good on paper. It looks good to lefties, but I don’t know how it’s going to look to righties.”

Graveman, the A’s presumed Opening Day starter, gave up four hits and a run and he struck out three. Smolinski’s dad gaining cult status: In an appearance on MLB Network on Monday morning, Jake Smolinski got as much mileage out of his imposing dad, Mike, as he did his monster three-run homer Sunday. Mike Smolinski, 65, has turned into something of a folk hero on the network for his stern demeanor, his intimidating Fu Manchu, and his muscular physique — plus the intensity of his focus when he and Jake’s mom, Mary, attend games.

“My dad has this certain look about him,” the A’s outfielder said. “He has a real serious look on his face. He’s built well. He’s always lifted. We’ve always trained together. And the guys on the MLB kind of rolled with it ever since. It’s morphed into this thing they talk about, like he’s turned into a character.

“It’s pretty funny. My dad gets a kick out of it, but he doesn’t like the limelight, which makes it even funnier.”

A’s manager Bob Melvin said, “If you know his dad, you can see why they want not only Jake but his dad on there, too. His dad’s funny — he’s always there for batting practice. It looks like he has a uniform on every day, and he is strong. So, you can see where Jake gets that.”

The younger Smolinski, for contrast, is known for his constant smile.

“My dad is stone cold,” Smolinski said, “but he has a lighter side, too, when you get to know him.”

“What happens is the dad grinds on it harder than the kid does,” Melvin said. “He’s grinding in BP, let alone during the games.”