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	Monday, July 17
	Midseason report: Chicago White Sox By Marty Bernoski ESPN.com
	Things have never been better for the Chicago White Sox. They finally knocked the Indians out of first place, fans are filling Comiskey Park once again and it's no fluke, Chicago is for real. Find out what went right for the Sox in our first-half review. First-half MVP: After a sub-par 1999, Frank Thomas is back on track. Through 84 games, The Big Hurt leads his team in average (.339), home runs (25), RBI (73), hits (102), slugging pct. (.651), and on-base pct. (.448). All that and no All-Star invitation. Thomas ripped the cover off the ball in June, batting .330 with 12 homers, 28 RBI and a monstrous .742 slugging percentage. Biggest disappointment: There's not too much to worry about so far. Greg Norton (.263, 5, 21) got off to a hot start by hitting .333 in April, but his average has fallen steadily since. Norton hit .255 in May and a mere .182 in June. Not a huge disappointment on such a hot team, but a noteworthy one. There seems to be one minor concern when it comes to starting pitching, and it is Kip Wells (4-7, 6.03 through July 6), who mustered only two wins during the months of May and June. He also lost two consecutive starts in the last week of June, surrendering 12 runs (7 earned) and 15 hits in only 7.1 innings. Biggest surprise: Through July 6, White Sox starters led the AL in wins (41) and had the third-best ERA (4.43). James Baldwin and Cal Eldred, who had 14 wins combined last season, have given the Sox 21 so far. Baldwin (11-4, 4.28) is one win shy of equaling his '99 total while Eldred, who was 6-16 with Milwaukee from 1998-99, picked up his 10th victory on June 28. Eldred has not had a winning record since he went 11-2 in 1992. After a seamless 8-1 start, Baldwin struggled through June (2-2, 5.76). Second-half goals: Keep padding their lead on the Indians and shoot for the best record in the majors. After a 30-22 start, the Sox went 20-7 in June, passing the Atlanta Braves for the best record in baseball. Another 20-win month and the AL Central would be locked up. A potent offense and one of the strongest pitching staffs in the majors makes the White Sox the team to beat coming out of the All-Star break. Manager Jerry Manuel's job is to keep this well-oiled machine operating at peak efficiency. Grade: -- There's not much wrong with a team that scored 522 runs in 84 games, an average of 6.2 runs per game, and a pitching staff with an overall ERA of 4.42. (Scale: 1 to 4 baseballs; 1 = worst, 4 = best) We told you what we thought of Chicago's first-half performance, now you've told us. Here is what you had to say about what the White Sox have to do in the second half.		ALSO SEE Midseason Feedback: White Sox MLB midseason reports ESPN.com's All-Star Game coverage Kurkjian: Stories of the first half Ten second-half questions for the AL Ten second-half questions for the NL