THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: New pitch clock great for fans, bad for struggling pitchers

So …

Now that we’ve had a large share of the MLB season (most of one weekend) for close study, what’s the verdict on all those dramatic rule changes?

Awesome.

No, we don’t know when a batter will fiddle with his gloves too long, and get called out via the pitch clock in the eighth inning with the bases loaded — or whether banning the shift will drive up batting averages.

We can only guess.

But one thing we DO know …

Games are going much, much faster, and thank heaven for that.

You can actually plan on sitting down to watch the Mariners in the evening without fearing that you’ll be staring bleary-eyed at the TV in the wee hours of the morning.

No matter what else the rule changes accomplish, slicing about a half-hour off a routine game is an absolute blessing (it was an average of 26 minutes on opening day).

If baseball’s decision-makers ever hope to attract younger fans, they’ve made a great move.

Deciding on other tweaks to the various rules can come as MLB and its players decide what works and what isn’t so good, but the pitch clock is a grand slam.

In a manner of speaking.

OBVIOUSLY, there are going to be guys who struggle with “hurry-up ball,” at least at the beginning.

Cleveland’s James Karinchak is a very good late-inning reliever who had a long and involved process between pitches until this spring.

But in Thursday night’s opening game, well, let me turn this over to Cleveland beat writer Zack Meisel …

“Before the pitch-clock violation, the fastball to the backstop and the decisive swing that beat the Guardians, Karinchak started J.P. Crawford with a pair of strikes.

“The teams had breezed through seven scoreless, nondescript innings. Karinchak, one of the league’s most reliable relievers, seemed poised to push it to eight.

“The only roars from the crowd had surfaced when the Mariners introduced Gary Payton, Marshawn Lynch and Ken Griffey Jr. during pregame festivities.

“But one man, relatively unfamiliar in Seattle, who stood atop the mound in gray pants, hugging his quads like an apologetic toddler, stirred the Mariners faithful more than any retired sports star could.

“And all Karinchak had to do to wake them from their slumber was stand there. And stand there some more.

“Three …

“Two …

“One.

“Home-plate umpire Mark Carlson raised his arms and emerged from behind home plate.

“He gestured toward Karinchak and lifted his left index finger to signal a violation of the pitch clock and an automatic ball.

“An eighth-inning spiral had commenced, the dagger in the Guardians’ defeat.

“Karinchak assured his coaches over the winter that the new rules wouldn’t disrupt his process on the mound. He’d revise his between-pitch routine, which last season included a couple of bobbles of the rosin bag, a swipe or two of his long, light-brown hair, a handful of tosses of the baseball from the pocket of his glove to his bare hand and enough fidgeting to saddle any observer with stress.

“Thursday, Karinchak ran out of time before attempting to throw an 0-2 pitch to Crawford.

“From there, the inning unraveled. He launched his next pitch, a 96 mph fastball, to the backstop.

“The crowd erupted. Fans started counting down with the timer.

(Should fans shout incorrect numbers to spark confusion?)”

“The crowd changed the game,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “The game got loud, and it got to their pitcher a little bit.

“He was a little out of whack.”

You know the rest.

Crawford walked, Karinchak hit Kolten Wong with a pitch and Ty France hit a three-run homer for the game’s only runs.

IT’S FAIR to say that Karinchak — unlike America’s viewers enjoying faster-paced baseball — is not a fan of the clock.

But, hey …

A guy doesn’t need to go through all those wiggles and wobbles before throwing a ball to home plate.

Get a sign, pick a target and fire the damn thing.

There is one obvious problem with the clock, at least for pitchers who’ve lost their rhythm.

The Phillies blew a five-run lead, coughing up nine runs in the fourth inning of their opener and lost 11-7 to Texas.

J.T. Realmuto said he felt helpless.

“As a catcher, your job is to slow down the pitcher,” Realmuto said. “And you can’t.

“I mean,” Realmuto said, “I was out of breath out there catching.”

Realmuto suggested that momentum might become more of an issue in baseball that we’ve ever known in the past.

“With the pitch clock, you can’t ever slow the pitcher down. It’s crazy,” Realmuto said.

“Once an offense gets rolling and the pitcher gets on the ropes a little bit, it’s really hard. You have to make a pitch quickly to get an out.

“Because momentum is going to be huge now with how fast things happen and the pitcher not being able to get a breath in.”

Catchers are allowed one trip to the mound per batter, and the pitching coach or manager can make a (short) trip to the mound each inning.

Still, you can see how — especially with a team on the road — things might snowball a little quicker with the home crowd baying for runs.

You know what, though?

Every player has to learn to live with these rules, and millions of fans are going to love them.

Better get used to it, gang.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

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