The White Sox have passed two significant baseball mileposts over the weekend: July 4th and the halfway point in their season.  With 82 games remaining, the White Sox are halfway through schedule.  So, instead of wasting your time writing about Clayton Richard not being able to get out of the fourth inning yesterday or losing two games to the Royals, I thought that I would be more productive by doing a halfway through the season evaluation.

Here is where the White Sox are:

Starting Pitching: By far the strength of this team, they got off to a shaky start when Jose Contreras wasn't really ready and Bartolo Colon was what he is: done.  Clayton Richard, a model of inconsistency, has had his ups and downs but still merits a place as the fifth starter.  Pink Gavin Floyd and John Danks had some bad outings early, but turned things around recently, although Floyd laid an egg on Saturday.  Mark Buehrle has been the most consistent of the starters, pitching well all year long.  Grade B+

Bullpen: Another important aspect of this team, the Sox have had mostly dependable pitching from the backend featuring Matt Thornton, Octavio Dotel, Scott Linebrink and Bobby Jenks.  Yeah, they've blown a few games, but overall, they are a pretty formidable bunch and arguably the league's best bullpen from the seventh inning on.  The big surprise has been the work of D.J. Corrasco, who is to this team what Luis Vizciano was in 2005.  Grade: B

Infield: This is the area in which the White Sox need the most improvement if they plan on winning the division this year.  It's not just the errors, it's the mind set.  With the exception of Paul Konerko who has been lights out, the trio of Chris Getz, Alexi Ramirez and Gordon Beckham has been hard to watch.  Getz has made some errors in critical situations, which really isn't like him.  Of the tree, he's probably the best at his position.  Ramirez has played with head in the clouds and has been spectacular when he wants to be and frustrating all at the same time.  Beckham is in his first season of playing a new position, third base.  He's replaced Joe Crede who was a great defensive player.  The problem Beckham has is not normal plays, it's to his right and to his left.  Many balls Crede would have pounced on get by Beckham, extending innings and pitch counts.  My guess is that the pitchers have little confidence in the left side of their infield.  In fairness to Beckham, he's new at his job and going to his right like Crede is going to take him a couple of years to master.  He'll be good eventually, but not right now.   Earlier this year, the Brent Lillibridge-Wilson Betemit experiment ended in disaster.  Grade: D

Outfield: I think this is the most under rated part of the Sox game.  Scott Podsednik can't go back on balls and has a weak arm, but we knew that the first time he was here.  He still plays an effective left field, far more than he does center.  Leaving offense off the table for a moment, Brian Anderson is the best defensive player on the team.  Dewayne Wise is a good utility outfielder and Jermaine Dye has provided his steady defense in right field.  Grade: B

Catching: I feel bad for A.J. Pierzynski who gets a bum rap because he can't throw anyone out.  A lot of that has to do with his pitchers not holding runners, but still A.J. has his issues.  Ramon Castro, who joined the party late, is a little better but not much. Grade: C-.

Offense: In a word, inconsistent, but more so earlier than now.  Konerko and Dye have had good years as has Scott Podsednik, who has shocked the world thus far in his Sox return.   A.J. Piersynski has had an average year, but has had a few big time clutch hits.  Jim Thome has been streaky and is beginning to look like a player his age.  The key to the team's success will be how the bottom of the order continues to develop.  After a slow start, Gordon Beckham is starting to hit and does not strike out a whole lot.  Chris Getz has struggled, but has had some huge hits and is capable of doing more.  The black hole offensively on this team is centerfield where both Brian Anderson and Dewayne Wise just can't seem to get on a roll.  Alexi Ramirez has also been hot and cold and in some cases flat out awful.  While the homers have been nice, the average needs to come up about 15 to 20 points.  Getting Carlos Quentin back should help a lot.  Grade: D+

Bench: One big problem for Ozzie Guillen is when he looks for a life preserver someone throws him a brick.  Early in the year, Brent Lillibridge and Wilson Betemit just weren't getting it done. Corky Miller, kind of, sort of, but not really.  Jayson Nix has done a nice job playing the part of Pablo Ozuna (without the HGH.)  Ramon Castro has shown not only can he hit the big fly, he also works well with Jose Contreras. Josh Fields needs to cut down on his swing and has done a decent job as a backup first baseman, even better than he has as a now backup third baseman. Grade: C

Managing: As poorly as this team started out, they are two games over .500 and 2½ games out of first when most people wrote them off in May.  A lot of the credit has to go to Ozzie and his coaches, who hung in there and kept their belief that this team could compete.  Ozzie has shown patience with his kid pitchers and his kid infielders.  Even though Kenny has made a few moves that has frustrated Ozzie, Ozzie has taken it all in good stride.  Don Cooper also deserves kudos for his handing of Floyd and Danks. Grade: B+

Overall Team Grade: C-

What the Sox need to do to continue to contend:

• If Carlos Quentin can come back healthy and contribute like he did last year, that should help this team a lot.  It may be too much to ask, as Quentin has a history of injuries and could relapse or hurt something else. But, if he's healthy, he's got a big bat to bring to the table.
• Scotty Pods needs to continue his all-star caliber play.
• Gordon Beckham needs to continue his improvement.  Give the kid credit.  While many would have been overwhelmed, Beckham dug in and fought his way back from a horrible start.  Now if he could only learn how to play defense laterally.
• Alexi Ramirez needs to remove his head from his backside immediately.
• The Sox need continued quality starts out of Buehrle, Danks and Floyd.  Richard needs to become more consistent.  The big question mark is Jose Contreras and if he can keep up the torrid pace he's been on since his return from the minors.  As for Bartolo Colon, please look in your rear view mirror.  He's the guy with the sandwich.

I've been on the bandwagon all season and I refuse to jump off.  In a weak central, it is probable that the Sox, the Tigers and the Twinkies will duke it out until the end.  I like the Sox odds, given their starting pitching.  Minnesota also has solid starters and Joe Nathan plus they play lights out defense.  Detroit has serious lumber and a very balanced lineup.  It should be a fun second half.

Lightning Round

• I wanted to address one thing I heard on the post game show yesterday where I disagree with my esteemed colleague Ranger Ronge.  In a discussion regarding managers, Ranger hinted that Ozzie is underrated and that Ron Gardenhire may be overrated.  I agree that Ozzie is underrated, largely because people write him off as a loose cannon.  Ozzie is doing his best job of managing this year.  But show me a guy who has lost all of the all-stars that Gardenhire has lost and is still in the race year in and year out.  Yes, Minnesota has an unreal farm system with unreal minor league instruction, but Ron Gardenhire, with no money for big ticket free agents and a younger and younger and team every year, seems to always find a way.  I don't think that's overrated.