THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Umps making J-Rod pay his dues

The Mariners are going to be just fine.

I can’t swear that as fact, not all on my own — but I’m going with Julio Rodriguez.

In seven games, the someday megastar has struck out 12 times, even though he looks good at the plate.

Unfortunately (and I believe this is ENTIRELY intentional), a gang of umpires have decided to show Julio that they’re a lot more important, that they’ve been around a lot longer, than some kid from the Dominican Republic.

And so …

They call him out on strikes.

Over and over, even when pitches are way, way out of the strike zone.

They trying to prove some kind of ridiculous point — that you have to pay your dues, or some nonsense like that — and no doubt they’re waiting for Julio to explode.

That particular third called strike, the one that was shown to be 4.19 inches outside the strike zone in a freeze-frame photo, oh, that would have been a time for it.

I’d have gone ballistic.

Hell, maybe I DID.

THEY’RE waiting for Julio to turn and scream, or make some comment, so they can throw him out of the game in a grand gesture of egotism.

And yet …

Even though it’s happening again and again — home plate ump Mark Ripperger did it to him twice Thursday during the M’s 5-1 victory — Julio Rodriguez won’t bite.

Just the opposite, in fact.

He may give a little nod of his head, like yeah, I get it …

But Julio just goes back to the dugout, then out to play centerfield, and he laughs with his teammates and just enjoys playing baseball.

He knows.

He knows that it’s all going to even out, that they’ll get off his butt eventually, and then he’s going to fill stadiums with line drives.

Having even MORE fun, if that’s possible.

So here’s the deal …

I’m gonna take a cue from Julio, who I believe will come to be the face of the Mariners, and just wait for some great days ahead.

No need to get all stressed, because he’s showing us it’s just baseball, and it’s FUN.

Yes, even for fans sweating out a ninth inning with that one-run lead.

ON THE surface, you can picture the Mariners coming home to face Houston tonight, and say that Seattle still doesn’t have the offense to compete for an AL West title.

It’s too soon, though, to make that assumption.

I get it that the Mariners didn’t exactly knock the cover off the ball while going 3-4 in Minnesota and Chicago, but really, neither did the Twins or White Sox.

It was cold and miserable in both cities — brutal weather for hitters.

There was snow a day before the season opener in Minneapolis, and then an ungodly wind in Chicago on Thursday was so bad that the Mariners missed three infield pop-ups in one inning — costing Logan Gilbert an unearned run during his ace performance.

Just to prove that the gale was awful on both sides, the Sox botched a pop in the next inning.

Hitting will improve with the weather, trust me.

What matters is whether the Mariners can begin to hit with men on base.

They left small villages of runners stranded in the losses on this first road trip.

It’s a habit they’ll have to break.

Even though plenty of the batting averages look hideous at the moment, things will turn around — just like Jarred Kelenic hitting the foul pole for a two-run homer instead of the thing being a foot on the wrong side.

It’s coming.

Julio’s chilled about it, so let’s go with that.

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Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. He also writes Zags Tracker, a commentary on Gonzaga basketball which is published monthly during the off season.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”