No, the Marlins Should Not Bench Giancarlo Stanton

Now that the NBA Finals are just about over, let's check in on the Marlins... OH MY GOD, WHAT HAPPENED TO STANTON?! Partially because the team has managed to tread water, and mostly because most of you don't care about the Miami Marlins, Giancarlo Stanton's horrific slump has flown more under the radar locally than it has nationally... but that's all about to change. 

As we speak, there is a hot take warming up our atmosphere, gaining heat as it descends upon our collective souls. This idea is so hot, it's sure to create a crater the size of Coral Springs when it finally reaches Opinion Earth.

Everyone to their doomsday shelters! The end is near! Some are saying that the Miami Marlins should bench Giancarlo Stanton in favor of Ichiro Suzuki. To repeat: Some believe it might be time for the Marlins to bench their $325 million man in favor of Ichiro, a 42-year-old slap-hitting outfielder.

How have your last 30 days gone? Better, presumably, than Giancarlo Stanton's: pic.twitter.com/poRFBPtrIZ

— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) June 13, 2016

Now to be fair here, Giancarlo Stanton has been a nightmare at the plate. He's hitting below .200, and if it doesn't get better pretty soon, it might be misleading to even mention .200 when talking about his average. Stanton has been a mess at the plate. He has been the worst hitter in all of baseball over the last month, and amazingly, that includes other Marlins!

Ichiro has been amazing. In his chase for 3,000 hits, he has somehow turned back the hands of time, batting .347 as of Wednesday. The Marlins are selling Ichiro bobbleheads that have a counter on them so fans can keep track of his chase for 3,000. The team really wants him to get there, preferably before it falls out of contention and seven people are at the park to see the big hit. 

No sane person is insinuating the Marlins permanently bench Stanton for Ichiro, but many are wondering if a week or two off might do Stanton some good. Well, it won't. Being benched midseason for a man old enough to be your father would be self-esteem crushing for any ex-All Star, but for a man who just signed a contract worth $325 million and is arguably the face of baseball, it would be downright embarrassing. Only in baseball does it make sense, or is it even acceptable, for a player to take days upon weeks to "get their head right." It became breaking news recently when Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors took a few seconds to himself during a game to clear his thoughts.

The Marlins are already missing arguably their most important player in Dee Gordon due to a steroids suspension; they cannot afford to be giving vacation leave to fix their swing. Stanton, whether he succeeds or fails, needs to be at the plate every night until he figures it out.

Ichiro and his pursuit of history is a cute story, but Giancarlo Stanton at-bats are more important to the team.