Well, not exactly standings, but placings. You have to pay to get the full standings, but no matter — it’s still fun to take a peak at what one of the major projection services thinks about the upcoming season.

I’m not sure what I expected but in viewing these I had the same feeling I used to have as a kid — buying a season preview magazine, running home and opening it up only to find roughly the same standings as the year before. However, the idea of the A’s finishing second jumps off the page, as does the Mariners finishing fourth. Frankly, I don’t buy it and I’m curious how PECOTA came up with that. It would certainly be the end of Bill Bavasi (maybe during the year) and would validate the win shares argument against the Erik Bedard trade. I recently read Bedard lives in a basement in his parent’s house, which I like.

PECOTA has the Dodgers finishing second to the Diamondbacks with the Padres finishing third. I think it’s entirely possible that the Dodgers will implode offensively and finish fourth or fifth. Also glad to see they’re picking the Nats to finish last — it’ll make me look all the better when I correctly predict them to finish second or third. Bing.

I’m sure Jackson and I will write some kind of lengthy, self-indulgent preview as the start of the season draws neigh. But feel free to chime in with any opinions for the time being. Maybe it’s because I’m in the Bay Area right now, but I found myself even making a (silent) case for the Giants being a halfway decent team yesterday. It’s that time of year…