The Chicago Cubs finished the first half of the season with a 39-50 record which has them in 4th place in the N.L. Central, 9.5 games behind the Reds. The Cubs are likely going to be sellers at the trade deadline for the first time in a few years. The Cubs do have some nice surprises but also some big disappointments this year and here’s a closer look at them:

Pleasant Surprises: 24-year old lefty swinging outfielder Tyler Colvin has really stepped up as a rookie for the Cubs. He has played in 80 games for the Cubs this season and he is 47 of 179 (.263 avg, .844 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 12 homers, 32 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Colvin will remain the Cubs’ #4 outfielder unless they can find a new home for Kosuke Fukudome at the trade deadline. The Cubs were so glad to get rid of Milton Bradley over the winter that they took back Carlos Silva with the idea of him being a mop up man in the pen. But he won a job in the starting rotation in spring training and he has been very good for the Cubs so far in 2010. Silva has started 17 games for the Cubs this year and he is 9-3 with a 3.45 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. 27-year old lefty reliever Sean Marshall finally has decided to live up to his potential in 2010. Marshall has pitched in 45 games (0 starts) for the Cubs this season and he is 5-2 with 1 save, a 2.03 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. He has only allowed 33 hits in 44 1/3 innings this season while whiffing 49 batters showing just how nasty he has been. 27-year old lefty starting pitcher Tom Gorzelanny is pitching the best ball of his career for the Cubs in 2010. Gorzelanny has pitched in 18 games (12 starts) for the Cubs this year and he is 4-5 with 1 save, a 3.16 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He has whiffed 76 batters in only 74 innings showing off some good stuff.

Disappointments: A lot of the core players of the Cubs are having terrible seasons and they are a big reason for the record they have in 2010. 34-year old righty swinging 1B Derek Lee just hasn’t looked good at the plate this year. Lee has played in 85 games for the Cubs this year and he is 75 of 322 (.233 avg, .695 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 10 homers and 36 RBIs. 32-year old righty swinging 3B Aramis Ramirez has had a horrible injury filled season. Ramirez has played in 62 games for the Cubs this year and he is 49 of 237 (.207 avg, .648 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 10 homers and 32 RBIs. 29-year old righty starter/reliever Carlos Zambrano has pitched horrible for the Cubs this season before he went all coo-coo in the dugout which resulted in his indefinite suspension. Zambrano has pitched in 22 games (9 starts) for the Cubs this year and he is 3-6 with a 5.66 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. 31-year old lefty reliever John Grabow is hurt now but he has also been pathetic this year. Grabow has pitched in 28 games (0 starts) for the Cubs this year and he is 1-3 with a 7.36 ERA and a 1.87 WHIP.

The Cubs have placed 24-year old righty reliever Brian Schlitter on the 15-day disabled list with a right shoulder impingement. Schlitter has pitched in 3 games (0 starts) for the Cubs this year and he is 0-0 with a 15.00 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP. The Cubs have called up 24-year old righty reliever/starter Mitch Atkins to replace Schlitter in the pen. Atkins has pitched in 18 games (10 starts) in AAA-ball this year and he is 5-2 with 1 save, a 3.60 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Atkins will be getting his second taste of the majors as he worked in 2 games last season for the Cubs pitching 2 scoreless innings allowing only 1 hit.

The Cubs are 36-47 on the season which has them in 4th place in the N.L. Central, 11.5 games behind the Reds. With that in mind I see the Cubs being sellers this month giving Cubs’ fans further heartache. Derek Lee, Ryan Theriot and Ted Lilly are the best trade chips the Cubs have to offer. They will likely try to move all three of them in separate trades. Mike Fontenot, Jeff Baker and Xavier Nady all have value to especially if the Cubs trade them to another N.L. team. But any dreams of getting rid of Kosuke Fukudome or Carlos Zambrano are likely just that….dreams….because it is very unlikely to happen. This month is going to really hurt, Cubs’ fans!

Rick Sutcliffe is a baseball announcer on ESPN broadcasts of MLB but in 1984 he was on top of the world. It didn’t start that way as Sutcliffe was with the Cleveland Indians when that year started. He pitched in 15 games (all starts) for the Indians and he was 4-5 with a 5.15 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP. That didn’t stop the Cubs from trading for Sutcliffe and the rest is history. Sutcliffe pitched in 20 games (all starts) for the Cubbies in 1984 and he was 16-1 with a 2.69 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He only gave up 123 hits for the Cubs in 150 1/3 innings with 155 whiffs showing how nasty he was for them. Sutcliffe went on to win the N.L. Cy Young Award despite barely playing more than half of the year for the Cubs. He pitched 8 years for the Cubs appearing in 193 games (190 starts) in which he was 82-65 with a 3.74 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP.

32-year old starting CF Marlon Byrd will be the Cubs’ lone All-Star next week. He has played in 81 games for the Cubs this season and he is 95 of 307 (.309 avg, .838 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 9 homers, 35 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Byrd has turned out to be a solid free agent signing for the Cubs as he has been their best player overall this season. He deserves the honor he will get next week and it will be his first appearance in the All-Star Game.