Brewers can smell a change in the air

PHOENIX —  The stench may finally be lifting from Miller Park.

Literally and figuratively.

Two weeks ago, workers at the Milwaukee Brewers’ ballpark repaired a misconnected sewer line that had been sending waste down river into nearby Lake Michigan for more than six years.

And on the field, Manager Ned Yost says he believes the team is a legitimate playoff contender after mostly stinking up the majors -- figuratively speaking -- by going 14 consecutive seasons without a winning record, tying them with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the longest streak of futility in baseball.

“Finally we’ve got enough depth and enough talent to be able to compete,” Yost said, leaning back in his office chair days before wrapping up his fifth spring training camp with the Brewers. “That’s what we’ve been waiting for ... to get expectations, to be able to have a team that can compete. Now we’ve got them [and] we’re excited about it.

“People want to think that you’re scared when you get expectations. What planet are you from?”

The Brewers will begin trying to live up to those ambitions this afternoon when they open the season by playing host to the Dodgers. And like the Dodgers, pitching -- especially starting pitching -- will go a long way toward determining how successful Milwaukee will be.

Opening-day starter Ben Sheets, who won at least 10 games in each of his first five seasons but spent much of the last two summers on the disabled list, is healthy again and tops a deep and talented rotation that includes left-hander Chris Capuano, an 18-game winner in 2005, and free-agent addition Jeff Suppan, who won 44 games the last three seasons with St. Louis.

Dave Bush and new addition Claudio Vargas, who each had a career-high 12 wins a year ago, fill out the rotation.

Infielder Craig Counsell said this year’s Brewers team reminds him of the world champions he played on in Florida (1997) and Arizona (2001).

“If there is a common ingredient, it’s pitching,” Counsell said. “It’s a deep rotation and one through five is really good. [But] it’s about performance ultimately. It’s not like everybody has to have a career year. If guys, just for the most part, do what you expect that should put us right there.”

Suppan, who has pitched for playoff teams in each of the last four seasons -- including the World Series winner last year -- agrees.

“Every team you play on, there’s some common denominators,” said Suppan, a graduate of Encino Crespi High and now a member of the school’s board of directors. “On our team this year, it looks good. If we play the way we’re capable of playing, good things will happen.

“That’s a pretty general statement. But it’s a true statement. I’m excited because you’re going out there with a group that wants to win.”

To make that happen, however, the Brewers will have to avoid injuries in the field and stop avoiding the ball at the plate. A balky right shoulder limited Sheets to a career-low 17 starts last season, and half of Milwaukee’s starting infield had its season ended in an operating room. The lineup J.J. Hardy and Rickie Weeks left behind struggled without them, finishing second in the majors in strikeouts for the second consecutive season.

If either problem persists this season, Yost says the Brewers’ great expectations could turn to hard times faster than you can say Oliver Twist.

“We’ve been dying for expectations for the last four years,” he said. “We could hardly wait to get them. [But] you’ve got to live up to them. That’s the challenge.”

kevin.baxter@latimes.com