2008 Topps

OK, enough time has passed to properly review this after the bad mojo that Topps gave me last week. I have not yet found any of these cards, but apparently everyone else has.

The card design is radically different than last year's at first glance. When you take a closer look though, you can tell that it's the same type of layout. It's just tweaked to look different. The white background tends to make the photo appear lost and faded. The effect works better on the parallel cards, which have colored borders.

The team name is enclosed in circles, which is supposed to give it a sixties feel. It does to a certain extent. The other part of me wants to scream, "Clown Shoes", because it reminds me of a carnival or a circus. That works better on teams which have more color in their arsenal. On the White Sox, it looks like the layout artist was color blind and working in grayscale.

There are 11 cards in the set for the White Sox. 10 base cards and one leader card featuring a Sox player.

• 86 - Scott Podsednik
• 144 - Jerry Owens
• 181 - Bobby Jenks, Joe Borowski, J.J. Putz
• 215 - Bobby Jenks
• 224 - Mark Buehrle
• 240 - Jim Thome
• 248 - Jose Contreras
• 274 - Jermaine Dye
• 284 - Lance Broadway
• 293 - Gavin Floyd
• 296 - Paul Konerko

We have 3 of the 5 projected starting pitchers, but no one to catch to. 2 cards of one closer. One pitching prospect. An outfielder on another team. One outfielder that may not make the team and another who will. A first baseman and a designated hitter. Sounds like a balanced lineup to me! With those ten players, all the other team would have to do is hit a ground ball to the third base side and they would have an automatic single. Maybe if they out Thome at third, like he started out on the Tribe?

For an actual field lineup, there's holes there. Big gaping holes. As a series one team set, it's pretty good. There are stars, rookies and fringe stars. Is it perfect? No. Is it good enough for a first series? Yes. The design may be slightly flawed, but it's certainly not boring. The players are there and it's a decent sampling. Unless you are a catcher of middle infielder junkie, you'll be fine with this selection. And if you're a junkie, you should seek help.