I bet you've all been wondering how the Cubs did this year? Who was good and who wasn't? Sure, you could look at the stats and pretty much figure that out right away, but what does that really mean?

Nothing. That's right, nothing. Because no analysis is complete without assigning an arbitrary, inconsistent, and largely biased grading system to it. So, without further ado, I give you the Cubs first half grades. Worth noting is that I'm only considering players currently on the team.

The Offense

Derrek Lee - Grade: A-

I really don't have any serious complains regarding Derrek. He's gotten on base at a .411 clip and, fueled by doubles, has a slugging percentage still hovering around .500 despite only 6 (!) homers. Mix in Gold Glove defense and you've got a great player. I really wish he hadn't picked that fight with Chris Young, though. They really need his bat in the lineup. Nah, screw it, Young is an ass.

Ryan Theriot - Grade: B-

Despite a torrid start, Theriot hasn't hit very well this season. He's been coming on again of late and can still be a major contributor, but he hasn't been getting on base enough to justify his lack of power. That being said, I think he can do better in the second half and he displaced Cesar Izturis which gets him major points. Factor in 14/16 in the stolen bases and he stays out of the C range (plus, he's just so darn scrappy).

Aramis Ramirez - Grade: A

All those who thought Aramis would get fat and lazy and take a downhill turn after signing a long term contract, please take one step forward. Yeah, you people were very, very wrong. Aramis has hustled his ass off all season and played through a knee injury that's obviously bothering him. Whatever the pain, he's kept hustling and hitting and currently leads the Cubs in OPS (.912), RBI's, and clutch homers against the Brewers. Factor in very solid defense and you've got an All Star snub. Go Aramis.

Mark DeRosa - Grade: A-

Seriously, I'd love to give DeRosa an A, but that wouldn't make sense as he hasn't hit nearly as well as Aramis (or Derrek, for that matter). He has, however, played awesome defense all over the field and hit like a madman (relative to expectations). He's gotten on base and been all clutchy and stuff. Basically, he's been showing that his Texas number weren't an aberration and that Hendry wasn't completely duped into signing him.

(and just for the record, I'd like to mention that I supported this signing, although I didn't expect him to hit quite this well. Just wanted to point out that I'm awesome)

Mike Fontenot - Grade: A/Incomplete

This is totally an unfair grade and isn't the same kind of A that I gave Aramis, but what can you do? He's been incredible over his 104 at bats with the Cubs. Sure, he's just riding a hot streak, but what can I dock him points for? The silent "t"?

Alfonso Soriano - Grade: A-

Since his mediocre April, Soriano has met all expectations. He's been hitting homers, stealing bases, and nailing runners at the plate. He now has 15 homers, 10 assists, and 13 stolen bases for a nice little triple double. Who here expected Soriano to be hitting over .300 at the break? Yeah, me neither.

Rest of Outfield (Cliff Floyd/Jacque Jones/Felix Pie/Angel Pagan) - Grade:D+

I can't really bring myself to write about each one of these guy individually, so let me just collectively say that they've been terrible. Jones has been so much worse than I ever could have expected, Floyd has merely been mediocre, Pie has been spotty, and Pagan has been solid but unspectacular. I've enjoyed Pie's defense and I love Pagan as a backup, but nowhere in that group of players will you find a legitimate 2/3 of an outfield.

Darryl Ward - Grade: B

Sure, he can't play defense and he waddles more than runs, but he sure has hit. I sort of expected more power, though.

Cesar Izturis - Grade: D-

Frankly, his defense hasn't even been that amazing. I've seen nothing from Izturis all season and he's making over 4 million dollars. Awesome.

Koyie Hill/Rob Bowen - Grade: um...C? C-? D?

I have no idea. The defense has been pretty good from these two, with each reminding Cub fans what a blocked ball in the dirt is supposed to look like, but the offense has been...jesus, it's just been god awful. Whither Geovany Soto? But, they've both been lucky enough to be around during the turn around, so maybe they deserve credit for the improved pitching.

The Pitching

Carlos Zambrano - Grade: B

Mix in a D for the first month and a half and an A+ for the second half of the first half (got all that) and you've got a B. Hopefully he'll score an A+ for the second half of the full season. Wait, what?

Ted Lilly - Grade: B+

I think Cub fans have to be thrilled with Lilly. He's been their most consistent pitcher, he's cut his walks (the only big problem throughout his career), and he's on pace for 15 wins and 200+ innings. Not much to complain about. He's on his way to a career year and is earning every dollar of his contract. Go Ted.

Rich Hill - Grade: B-

If he could just be a bit more consistent, he would grade a bit higher. But, alas, he's been all over the place as befitting a rookie. I think he'll be fine in the long run, but right now he's just a solid contributor to a solid staff. Especially if he can start keeping the ball in the park.

Jason Marquis - Grade B

My god, how is Jason Marquis earning a B? I mean, his end result numbers are totally there (tied with Lilly with a 3.67 ERA), but they shouldn't be. His strikeout to walk ratio is just...poor. But, whatever, let's hope reality doesn't click in anytime soon and his performance continues throughout the season. Honestly, I like Jason Marquis. That's a sentence I never figured to utter.

Sean Marshall - A-/Incomplete

Well, it's only been 50 innings and has mostly been accomplished with smoke and mirrors (that's not entirely true, his strikeouts are solid and walks are somewhat down), but other than one bad outing, Marshall has been brilliant. After struggling all season to find a decent fifth starter, the Cubs have rolled a Yahtzee.

Carlos Marmol - I was going to lump the bullpen all together, but that would do a disservice to the greatness that is Carlos Marmol. He currently has an ERA+ of 458! That is, he's four and a half times as good as your average pitcher. That's ridiculous. And he's come by his numbers honestly. He's striking out almost 13 batter per nine innings, he's only walked ten people all season, and he's been virtually unhittable. He slings the fastball up to the plate at 95 with movement and couples that with a filthy slider, resulting in many silly-looking batters. It's just unfair. At some point he'll give up some runs, yes, but I don't see any reason to predict a fall from grace unless he simply runs out of gas. In Marmol We Trust.

Rest of Bullpen: Blah. Dempster and Wuertz have been solid, but the rest have been all over the map. Eyre is a solid F, Howry oscillates between F- and A, and Ohman has been the definition of mediocre. That being said, they've been much better of late, but that's largely due to Marmol and we've already discussed him. Let's hope a little rest helps Howry and he has a solid second half. The Cubs are gonna need it. Oh, and a grade? I don't know. C-.

As a side note, it's worth noting that the starting pitchers have combined to be about 20% better than average and the entire pitching staff is 12% better than average. That's impressive, folks, and if they keep that business up they'll do well in the second half.

Well, none of this adds up to the overall grade the Cubs should get. They should get a C given that they're at .500. Maybe that's because they're expected win/loss is really 46-41. Who knows. Anyway, things are seeming to finally be shaking out and could make for an exciting second half.

Go Cubs!