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	Friday, July 7
	Sox, Sox and more Sox By Tim Kurkjian ESPN The Magazine
	It has been another fascinating first half of the baseball season, one dominated by surprises, homers, strikeouts and 11-10 scores. Here are the five biggest stories of the first half. The White Sox At the end of spring training, a scout who'd seen the White Sox play 12 times said they were "terrible. They can really hit, but that's it." Well, the White Sox really can hit, but that's not it. They can pitch, they play hard -- with joy -- and they have no idea how good they are. Through Wednesday, they have four more victories than any other team in the major leagues. Jose Valentin has hit more homers already this year (13) than he did all of last season (10). It starts with their lineup, which has thunder all the way through it. All nine spots in the order can hit a home run. The middle of the order is the most formidable, but it's the 7-8-9 hitters, one of whom is usually left fielder Carlos Lee (59 RBI), that make this lineup so scary. It's a strange collection in that the top two hitters -- Ray Durham and Jose Valentin -- don't take very many pitches, don't get cheated out of taking their hacks and because of that have hit a combined 26 homers. The White Sox have a terrific bench, giving manager Jerry Manuel interchangeable parts. They don't have an everyday third baseman, so they split the position between three guys. They play three different guys at first base. No one gets tired and no one gets stuck as the DH because they rotate that spot as well. The Sox are just as versatile in the bullpen where Keith Foulke, the game's best unknown pitcher the last two years, is their closer. But Bobby Howry can also close as can Bill Simas. As currently assembled, Howry and Simas make up the best set-up tandem in the league. They're often given a lead in the late innings because Chicago's big four starters -- James Baldwin, Cal Eldred, Jim Parque and Mike Sirotka -- all have eight or more wins. Eldred (10-2) is one of the game's best stories this year. He underwent Tommy John surgery several years ago, but wasn't able throw freely until last year. It often takes a year to regain the feel for pitching and this year he's done just that. He's throwing in the '90s again with a great curveball. And then there's Manuel. When he was a coach for the Expos, he learned from one of the best in Felipe Alou on how to handle players, the media, controversy, or in other words, everything. And when he went after Frank Thomas this spring, challenging his best player when he begged out of a drill, he won over the entire team. Manuel is quiet, but the players all know he's in charge. Homers galore We're on a record pace again for home runs per game this season. We just missed the major-league record for such in June, which finished slightly behind -- what else? -- May 2000 and April 2000 for the biggest home run months in history. This season, more homers were hit by April 7 than were hit in the entire 1918 season (235). On April 7, 57 homers were hit -- the most ever in one day in major-league history. The Cardinals hit 55 homers in April, most ever in that month (the 1988 Cardinals hit 71 homers the entire season). Mark McGwire has gotten to 30 before the All-Star break for the fourth time in his career. McGwire is one of 18 different Cardinals to hit a home run this year -- the record is 24 by the 1963 Cleveland Indians. Through Tuesday, 123 players had hit two or more homers in a game -- the record is 167 set last year. Eight had hit three or more homers in a game -- the record is 16 set last year. Sixteen different pitchers had hit a homer. And how about the shortstops? Baltimore's Mike Bordick has 14 homers, Oakland's Miguel Tejada has 13, St. Louis' Edgar Renteria has 10 and Montreal's Orlando Cabrera has eight. If this sounds like too many home runs, well, it is. The fall from grace The ultimate beauty of baseball is its unpredictability, but this is truly ridiculous. Through Tuesday, the Astros, who were supposed to contend in the NL Central, had the worst record in baseball. "I can't tell you how many times I've thought this year, 'This can't be happening to us,' " says Astros infielder Bill Spiers. "We can't believe what's going on here." The Astros fell faster than anyone, but many good teams from 1999 are laboring while those stomped on last year are stomping back. The Marlins have more wins than the two-time defending champion Yankees. The Expos and Reds, who thought they'd secured a pennant by seizing Ken Griffey Jr., have the same number of wins (40). The Angels and Indians, meanwhile, are also tied in wins (43). This is what makes baseball so fun. When the Lakers host the Clippers, the Clippers never win. That never happens in baseball, even in this era of horrible disparity between big and small market teams. Every night, anyone can win. And believe it or not, there's a chance that none of the four AL playoff teams from 1999 will make the postseason this year. The John Rocker situation As much as we'd like to leave this one off, it's unavoidable. It is partly the media's fault that the story got as big as it did, but mostly it's Rocker's fault because he kept saying and doing the wrong things. Perhaps last Thursday night provided the first step toward Rocker, the Braves, and all of baseball getting past this sorry story. Rocker pitched well, the Braves won and no one got killed at Shea Stadium because the crowd was controlled. This would be a non-story if Rocker was a pedestrian middle reliever, as if that was the case the Braves would have released him months ago. But he's 25 years old, throws 97 mph and his curveball is his best pitch. He recently threw a 95-mph cutter by accident. "They can't win without him," says one scout. The great Andres Galarraga It's such a shame that more words have been written and said about Rocker than the Big Cat. Galarraga has come back from a year's absence due to cancer and become the hitter he was before he got sick. And he has done this in his typically joyous, gracious way. The Braves traded for Wally Joyner in the offseason because they weren't sure if Galarraga could play in 100 games. Through Wednesday, he is hitting .293 with 19 homers and 60 RBI. And on Wednesday he added to his great first half by being named to the All-Star team. Next Tuesday, he should get the biggest ovation of the night at Turner Field. ESPN The Magazine's Tim Kurkjian writes a weekly column for ESPN.com.