We’re continuing to get weird around here.
Pulling tarot cards is an interesting exercise.
The first part of it is finding the right question to ask. Like I said yesterday, you can’t ask yes/no questions, and you can ask multiple choice questions. You have to ask open-ended questions, but you also need to ask a specific enough question to divine an answer.
Then you have to start shuffling the cards while focusing on the question. How long do you shuffle is a personal question, but I tend to shuffle until the picture comes clearly into my head. For instance as I was asking about Matt Olson, I continued asking “What should Matt Olson expect from his 2025 season?” until I could clearly see his pretty eyes in my head. It lets me know that I have focused hard enough on the question that the deck knows what I’m asking.
Then you have to cut the deck. This is a pure feel thing. Do you take a quick swipe of a few cards off the top? Do you grab most of the deck? It doesn’t really matter. You just take as many feels right.
And then you look at the card underneath. I try not to hope or expect anything in particular. For me, the goal is to ask the deck my question, focus until it’s clear in my mind, and then just accept what the deck gives me.
Finally, you have to interpret. This is where the self-reflection I was discussing in the prior post comes in. In most cases, you will usually start applying it to the first situation you think of, and in a way, that often reveals something about yourself – a current concern, a goal, or reveals something from your subconscious. It would be impossible to completely extricate yourself from the interpretation. The interpretation often says just as much about you as the card.
So let’s get back to the Atlanta Braves and their pitchers.
For the position players, you’ll want to check out this post.
For a more serious look at the season ahead, you’ll want to check out last week’s posts on Starters and Relievers.
A reminder of some of the things we discussed in the first post.
In this particular instance, I’m going to do a few things.
· Give you the Steamer, ZIPs, and the average (kind of) of the two.
· I’ll do a Tarot reading for the player’s season, and I’ll give you my interpretation of how they’ll do.
· At the end of the year, I’ll come back and see how we did.
· I’m not going to do this for every player, but we’ll do it for the main ones.
Also, keep in mind some rules for asking questions to your deck:
· You need to ask specific questions that leave room for interpretation.
· Do not ask yes/no questions or questions that need an answer – “Will Sean Murphy have a good year?” or “Will Sean Murphy perform more like ZIPs or Steamer?”
· Instead, we’ll ask, “What should Sean Murphy expect from his 2025 season?” It’s a specific question, but it allows us to make an interpretation.
· When you ask the question, you should keep only it in mind. You must focus. While you do this, you shuffle the cards, and when the moment is right, you cut the deck and take the top card. I’m sure there are other ways, but this is how I do it.
Chris Sale – Nine of Swords
Welp. Pulled this one out again, and given Sale’s injury history, a season of anguish is probably more likely than a repeat of 2024. Unfortunate.
Spencer Strider – The Hierophant
We step back into the Major Arcana for Spencer. This one is intriguing because it is less about his performance and more that a teacher will appear that will have a great impact on him. Maybe he will learn a lot from Chris Sale once Sale goes down with whatever horrible thing is going to happen to him.
Spencer Schwellenbach – Nine of Wands
Another re-pull from the other day (Austin Riley). Spencer is going to have to work this season, and it won’t come easy for him (sophomore slump, hello). But if he sticks with it and grinds through the tough part of it, he will come out so much better on the other side.
Reynaldo Lopez – Two of Cups
Sometimes, pulling cards is kind of hilarious. The Two of Cups is a card of romance, and Reynaldo is … married. So hopefully, everything stays good there. Otherwise, it can point to the beginning of a strong friendship, so let’s just hope for the sake of his marriage that he becomes good buddies with someone, maybe Profar.
AJ Smith-Shawver – The Hierophant
I promise I’m not rigging the results of this. Another re-pull within the post, literally almost anyone could become a teacher for AJ because … he’s a rookie, so I’m going with the deck trying to guarantee itself a win here. Cheeky.
Grant Holmes – Mother of Swords
We finally get one of the family cards. The Mother of Swords is perceptive, but this can tend to go overboard if the one in question doesn’t keep it in check. With Holmes coming off a strong but small sample size season, he’ll need to pay attention to what he’s doing, but if he becomes too critical of his performance, he will struggle due to overanalysis. Just pitch ball, man.
Raisel Iglesias – Father of Cups
Just like that, we have another one. The Father of Cups is a bit of a standard-bearer and a man of integrity, but he’s not afraid of being in touch with his feminine side. As the leader of the bullpen, he’ll need to use this to guide the others … mostly because I’m kind of concerned that he’s cooked.
Dylan Lee – Two of Swords
I’m really annoyed that we keep pulling swords. In this case, Dylan must be facing a situation that he doesn’t actually want to face or address. He must confront this head-on in order to be able to succeed.
Pierce Johnson – The Devil
Yikes. Another card from the Major Arcana, pulling this isn’t as dire as it might appear, but it needs to be addressed immediately or disaster will strike. Buddy, if you have some sort of mechanical flaw or working on some pitch, let’s get a move on.
Aaron Bummer – The Hierophant
Haha! The deck is probably like Mark, please stop. Just stop. Listen bro, I’m your teacher. Just stop. I’m tired.
At this point, my assumption is that Sale’s injury leads to him becoming some sort of great teacher or Raisel leans into his Father of Cups. My fear is these guys are gonna end up in some cult.
Daysbel Hernandez – The Sun
Oh yeah, baby. Unequivocal goodness. This is Daysbel’s year.