Miami Marlins: There is no need to freak out about Giancarlo Stanton and Steve Cishek

Not much has gone right for the Miami Marlins in the first week of the season. The team has started the season off losing six of their first seven games of the season. You can only point to a select few things that have gone right for the Marlins. Two of the things that have not gone the Marlins way are two players that were projected to be their best players headed into this season: Giancarlo Stanton and Steve Cishek.

Apr 8, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton (27) makes a catch in the fourth inning against the Atlanta Braves during on opening night at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Marlins fans were expecting big seasons from these two, mainly because there are not many other Marlins players to get excited about. That is why the fans are glorifying the early season struggles for these two. It is way too early to deem that there is anything wrong with either of these players, as the season is just a week old.

Giancarlo Stanton has always gotten off to slow starts in the month of April. Here is a look at his numbers from his first three April’s:

Stanton’s numbers so far this season are far from pretty, but the truth is he is being pitched to in a different manner than he has in the past. The season is just 7 games in and Stanton has plenty of time to adjust. In fact, throughout his career, Stanton has done a fine job of adjusting after a slow start.

Here is a look at Stanton’s career numbers in May:

So while his numbers have not been great so far this season, Stanton’s past numbers have warranted him time to make his necessary adjustments and get back to where he left off last season. I am not worried about Stanton, and from his quote, he knows he needs to get better and is working on it:

"“It’s a marathon not a race,” Stanton said. “We’ve only had six games, 20, 25 at-bats. People want to say this is how the season is going to go. No, you’ve got to go through the whole year.”"

If you look across baseball, Stanton is not the only superstar struggling in the early season. Robinson Cano, Jason Heyward, and Matt Kemp have not gotten off to the best starts, among a bunch of other players. Like Stanton said, it’s marathon, not a race.

Steve Cishek apologized to Jose Fernandez after he blew his shot at his first career win, in start number one. He has had two rough outings, but Marlins fans have already grown impatient with him. This is a question that Juan Rodriguez was posed on Twitter last night:

I remind you, when I posted my article in early March that the Marlins should explore the trade market for Steve Cishek, I was met with a lot of angst on Twitter and Facebook. Cishek’s side-arm delivery has made him a fan favorite and people were upset to hear the notion that the Marlins could trade another popular player.

Now, with just two games under his belt, I have seen Marlins fans clamoring for Cishek to removed from the closer role. Hashtags were already created for Cishek’s struggles, including my favorite, #Cishekwrecked.

Cishek admitted after the outing that he did not have a feel for his slider, which caused him to be erratic. It was a cold day on Sunday in New York, so that is understandable. Cishek should improve and two bad outings should not be the indicator of whether he can handle the role or not.

If you are concerned about Stanton or Cishek’s issues at this moment, you are overreacting. Both should be fine and will turn things around. The baseball season is just two days into it’s second week and we have a lot more season left.