Yelich on Freeman, Dodgers: Crew 'can compete with anyone'

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The benefit of Spring Training in Arizona is that teams are so geographically close, they typically take batting practice at their home ballpark and “show and go” for road games like the Brewers’ Cactus League opener against the Dodgers, a 3-3 tie at Camelback Ranch on Friday.

As a result, Christian Yelich and the Crew arrived too late to witness the Dodgers’ introductory press conference for star first baseman Freddie Freeman, which took place outdoors on a terrace overlooking left field. Freeman donned a Dodgers jersey for the first time and turned to the cheers of fans below. An already-stacked Los Angeles lineup was officially even more stacked.

Was it at all discouraging for the more modestly built Brewers? No, Yelich insisted.

“The payrolls are obviously different, but that doesn’t mean there’s a talent discrepancy,” Yelich said. “We’ve got a really great pitching staff and we believe in our guys. We believe we can compete with anyone. It’s cool to have that mentality.”

Manager Craig Counsell had a similar take. When asked this week if he was at all discouraged to see the Dodgers add another superstar, Counsell responded, “No. Good for them. It’ll be fun to play them.”

It’s “just how it is,” Yelich said, that the teams have different resources. Payroll projections are tricky, especially with so many players still negotiating their salaries in arbitration. But at the moment, FanGraphs projects about $132 million for Milwaukee’s Opening Day payroll with the players currently under control. That’s less than half of the current $282 million projection for the Dodgers.

“Certain clubs, they always seem like when they lose a big free agent or two, they reallocate their chips into a different superstar player. That’s what they did,” Yelich said, referring to Freeman, whom he lauded as a Hall of Fame-caliber talent. “You know, we believe in our group, though. We’ve had success. We have a bunch of players that are really confident, and it’s not one of those things where you want to look at all the other things other people have, and we don’t have.

“No, we have a lot of talent, and we believe in ourselves. The thing about baseball is -- and it’s a cliché -- but you never know what can happen. I think we’re a talented group and we’ve had some experience in the postseason and in pennant races and understand what it takes to be a team of that caliber. It’s about being able to do it.”

Yelich paused to emphasize that he’s not getting ahead of things. Friday was just the first game of Spring Training -- Yelich contributed with an RBI single in his third at-bat -- and these teams could look very different, Yelich said, when they meet for series in back-to-back weeks in the middle of August.

“I think it’s fair to say we construct our teams a little differently,” Yelich said. “But David [Stearns, Milwaukee’s president of baseball operations], ‘Couns,’ Mark [Attanasio, the principal owner], they always give us what we need to compete. Our teams are always very competitive. We have pretty good players. I think we have more than enough to accomplish the goals we want to accomplish.

“We have to play the season and get in the playoffs, and once you get in the playoffs there’s no telling. There are short series, and you play the games and see where it lands. The more times you get in, the more opportunities you have to take it to the finish line. That’s still our goal and we believe in our group.”