It’s the Friday before a holiday weekend. If your respective employer thinks you’re going to be anything more than useless today, she has another thing coming. Yes, I made the assumption your boss was a woman. It’s a new world out there, baby - an increasingly equal one where a woman can be your boss and you can trick that possibly female task manager into thinking you’re working… even though you’re reading the newest Out of Right Field. Your boss sounds hot! Isn’t America great? (Don’t answer that!)

In the newest Out of Right Field, Bryan and Jared write of:
• The ‘Brat Hot Tub’
• A Summerfest-influenced playlist
• A fake, yet Cub-heavy steroid list
• Wily Peralta
• The Wave’s lameness. Goddamn wave…

Read that thing HERE, and check out Miller Park Drunk over the weekend. Jared and I answered some questions for the site and our responses might be up soon. Actually, be sure to just check out Miller Park Drunk period. It’s hilarious.

Have a safe and fun holiday weekend. Drink a lot, but don’t drive… and when your ride drops you off, be sure to drunk-order some RFB shirts. Until sales pick up, I can only pack turnips and expired yogurt in my kids’ lunches. OK, I don’t have kids - but imagine if I did. Would you want that on your conscience?

The Milwaukee Brewers have reportedly signed Jose Alberto Peña, a highly regarded outfield prospect from the Dominican Republic. It’s exciting news for a franchise that has historically not had much success landing major international prospects.

ESPN Magazine’s Jorge Arangure Jr. reported the signing on his Twitter account this evening.

Peña, a 16-year-old rightfielder, was called “arguably the most in-demand hitter on the market” by Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus last month.

He shows a consistent ability to make hard contact, and has big-time power, along with a frame that has many projecting 30-plus home runs in the majors. Pena also owns an above-average arm and the athleticism to become a right fielder. He gets commended for his makeup, while also being the only top prospect this year still in school, as he finished up with his finals recently.

The 6′4″, 195-pound Dominican bats and throws right. Brew Crew Ball’s Battlekow has more details:

He’s being compared to Jermaine Dye and Juan Gonzalez and wowed the scouts last month in a showcase against the Canadian Junior National Team when he homered off Jake Eliopoulos (a top-three rounds draft talent). McDaniel has Pena as the sixth-best international prospect this year and says that Pena’s expected bonus has increased from $500K to $1M-$1.5M in the last couple weeks.

Here’s a scouting report from Baseball America’s Ben Badler:

Jose Pena, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound right fielder has flashed some power in game situations from the right side of the plate, showing average speed and a plus arm. Pena has shown well in front of some teams, including a workout in front of the Dodgers’ brass and at a showcase last month in the Dominican Republic where he hit a home run off Canadian lefthander Jake Eliopoulos, the Blue Jays’ second-round pick. “He’s grown bigger and stronger,” said one scout. “He’s the kind of guy who you might get out the first time, but he adjusts and finds a way to figure it out.”

And a blurb from an ESPN Insider article from May:

“He shows some raw power and he is a decent athlete,” Dodgers assistant general manager Logan White, who attended Monday’s workout, wrote in an e-mail. Said one international scouting director of Peña: “He’s a good kid with talent and plus makeup.”

There is no word yet on what Peña got for a bonus, though it is expected to be between $500,000 and $1.5 million, which could eclipse the franchise record highest bonus for an international player ($710,000 for Rolando Pascual in 2005). For reference, the Brewers paid $450,000 to promising pitching prospect Wily Peralta and $33,000 to top prospect Alcides Escobar. (h/t Battlekow @ Brew Crew Ball)

For more, they’re discussing the signing over at BrewerFan.net too.

Good luck to the kid. Hopefully we’ll see him in Appleton soon!

Weekly Record: 3-3

Current Record: 40-35

Likes:

• Brewers back in first (technically)
• The gift Nick Blackburn gave the Brewers. Thanks for staying in the game and thanks for the ill-advised throw. Otherwise you would have swept the Brewers again, and that’s boring…
• Prince Being Clutch
• The fight the team showed to win on Saturday…I couldn’t believe it!

Dislikes:

• The team looking lazy on Friday. 4 goddamm hits against some kid who was getting hit hard in the minors?
• Kubel continues to kill the Crew
• The continued decline of Bill Hall is really just sad…I’m honestly starting to feel bad for the guy…
• The Cards getting DeRosa…that must be one helluva PTBNL

This Week in Stats

Weekly ERA: 4.50  (19th in the ML)                                     YTD: 4.49 (24th in the ML)
Weekly BA: .233 (24th in the ML)                                         YTD: .250 (24th in the ML)
Weekly Opponents BA: .278 (24th in the ML)                 YTD: .255 (10th in the ML)
Weekly Slugging Percentage: .399 (15th in the ML)     YTD: .418 (12th in the ML)
Weekly Fielding Percentage: .991  (7th in the ML)      YTD: .986 (12th in the ML)

Quick Hitters:

The Brewers have used 6 different players in the leadoff position this year.

The Brewers have lost 4 out of the last 4 times facing a pitcher making his debut. Sadowski won June 28th, Figaro won June 20th, Hanson ND, but ATL won on June 7th, and Swarzak on May 23rd.

Those pitchers had a combined total of a 3.00 ERA, but two out of the four didn’t even give up one earned run

Well, Manny Parra’s streak of decent/solid starts was flushed down the toilet today. Here was his line against Oklahoma City:

4.2IP  5H  7R  6ER  5BB  5SO

Looks familiar doesn’t it? What can you say about it? It’s exactly what we were not hoping to see. With that being said, just like his good starts at Triple-A, I am not going to read too much into it. I would feel better if that walk total kept going down though. I guess this just cements his place in the Nashville rotation for the near future. Go get them next time, Manny!

My worst fear this offseason was that Adam Dunn would land in Chicago with the Cubs. He has his flaws, which are widely debated (strike outs, low batting average, poor fielder), but he is remarkably consistent and would have driven in a lot of runs and got on base a lot in that line-up. Luckily, Cubs GM Jim Hendry fell in love with Milton Bradley and overpaid for him. Bradley is obviously a talented player, but his uncontrollable temper, piss poor attitude, frequent injuries and horrible defense was enough to make me smile about the signing at the time. About seven months later, I’m still smiling. The Brewers have not been playing great baseball, but they are still tied for the division lead with the Cardinals, largely thanks to Milton Bradley tearing down the Cubs from the inside.

Bradley’s Chicago sideshow started early with an ejection, a bumped umpire and a suspension, and it has only escalated since. In the last few weeks, his horrible production has been highlighted by a ball thrown into the stands with two outs, some nice blowups and an argument with his manager that led to Piniella asking him to take off his jersey and go home. Awesome. The best part? Bradley is probably going to be right there on the northside for two more years after this one!

So, while the Brewers have just been treading water lately and there are some serious issues that need addressing (namely starting pitching depth), at least we can take a step back, look at our friends to the south and feel a little bit better about our position. I grabbed a few quotes from Chicago news media and blogs about the Cubbies resident hothead for you all to enjoy the meltdown along with me.

• Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune — “Is Lou Piniella’s Tough Love the Way to Handle Milton Bradley” (6/27):

Seldom has an off-season strategy blown up louder.

The Cubs should have steered around the injury-prone, volatile Bradley, but he hit so well last season in Texas (.321, 22 homers, a league-best .436 on-base percentage) that it was easy to ignore the “handle with care” label.

AND

The Cubs aren’t going to release him. They can’t trade him. They have to fix him.

Piniella and Hendry know Bradley a lot better than the rest of us. Maybe tough love is the best recipe. But from here it looks like kicking a guy when he’s down.

• Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune — “Milton Bradley uncomfortable with his fit on Chicago Cubs” (6/27):

But it’s too late to turn back now. Bradley is signed for the next 2 1/2 years, and he’s virtually untradeable.

• Al at Bleed Cubbie Blue — “Milton Bradley Must Go” (6/27):

For me, I will not boo Bradley unless he makes an egregious on-field mistake (such as tossing another ball into the stands with less than three outs). I’ll cheer his positive contributions as long as he wears the blue pinstripes. I have no doubt that he wants to win and do well, very badly. The problem is: I don’t think he knows how, how to be part of a team, how to channel that passion and aggressiveness to the team.

And I will expect nothing from him. Because that’s what he has given us so far.

• Al at Bleed Cubbie Blue — “Milton Bradley, I’m Done With You” (6/26):

Why Jim Hendry chose to sign Bradley in the face of overwhelming evidence that this was a bad idea is inexplicable.

AND

To all those who said, “100 games of Milton Bradley is worth more than a full season of Adam Dunn“, with all due respect, in this case running the numbers don’t tell the whole story. Not one of you — not anyone — can say to me that the Cubs wouldn’t have been better off with Adam Dunn in right field up to this point in 2009, defense be damned.

• Jason at Goatriders of the Apocalypse — “The Worst Trade Since Brock for Broglio” (6/28):

The Worst Trade since Brock for Broglio … was clearly when the Cubs traded Mark DeRosa for Milton Bradley.  I won’t listen to any arguments regarding this.  If you disagree with me, then maybe you should try reading more blogs because you’re an idiot.

• Rob G. at The Cub Reporter — “Cubs Win, Gatorade Cooler Loses Again..Bradley Sent Home” (6/26):

Then of course, Bradley can’t buy an extra base hit when it counts to save his life and thinks the entire world is out to get him, when all they really want him to do is hit over .250 with a little pop.

• CubbieBlue at The Cub Reporter — “Top 10 Most Embarrassing Things About the Cubs” (6/26):

#1: Milton Bradley - from bumping the ump in his first game to tossing the ball into the bleachers with only two outs (Milton’s Boner) - there isn’t alot about Milton that isn’t excruciatingly embarrassing.

• Bullpen Brian — “Lou vs. Milton Bradley” (6/28):

What’s for certain is the Cubs’ offseason signing of Bradley was stupidity, plain and simple.

• Harry Pavlidis at Out of the Ivy — “Bradley’s Fork in the Road” (6/28):

Still, the Cubs could release Bradley and try and swing some type of Fox-Hoffpauir-Other rotation in right.

• Chicago Cubs Baseball — “Cubs’ Bradley Just Don’t Get It” (6/28):

If there was ever an ill fit for a baseball team or for that matter, a city, Bradley is it.  And the fact that Cubs general manager Jim Hendry was not only able to find the mis-fit, but sell it to the organization is sick genius in itself.

Holy sh*t, Jeremy Jeffress sucks. How stupid can one guy be? Whatever though, my sources have given me some inside information that this might give Barry St. Jello an opportunity for a position switch to SP. I am all for that, the scouts say his arm is like rubber. I am not really certain what that means, because I never use them - but I assume it’s good. It’s just aggravating, at a time when the Brewers pitching depth is meek (to say the least), to watch a promising player throw it all away like this. But, it’s probably not his fault. Let’s blame God. God, why did you have to make Jeremy’s life so hard? It’s just not fair.

Haudricourt has the skinny on his blog if you even give a sh*t enough about this hack to read more.

When I heard the world lost Michael Jackson, I thought - Bummer, the world just lost an average WR at best. Since then, I have noticed the amazing amount of fans that were genuinely affected by his passing. Now, I feel bad that I didn’t feel remorse when I heard this news nugget while I was in between beat off sessions at my computer yesterday. So, in lieu of my cold heart - I thought it would be appropriate to give him a “seeing off” if you will. I will never forget you always wearing one glove and being the self proclaimed king of drop. RIP champ, you were apparently the greatest. 

<3 Johnny.

I mean, I guess it’s up for dispute, but Joe and I joined forces to bring the same caliber of “Out of Right Field”-oriented hotness, awesomehood and modesty you’re no doubt accustomed to on a fortnightly basis.

In this one we tackle:
• Pizza… and 40s - the slumpbuster of beers
• Coheed and Cambria 
• Randy Winn’s tight ass body
• The only Mike Burns Photoshop document in existence
• Mike Fetters
• Our horses and 401Ks

Read that thing HERE.

The Brewers have agreed to terms with A. Dunn.

Unfortunately, no, my dream of watching Adam Dunn play in a Brewers uniform is not unfolding…

The Brewers inked Andrew Dunn, a 6-foot-5 right-handed pitcher who played for John A. Logan College and, most recently, Southern Illinois University. He’ll join Helena in the coming weeks after an arm-strengthening program and a few games in the Arizona League.

Here’s some info on the other Dunn’s college playing career:

This past spring, Dunn went 8-4 with a 3.15 ERA in 18 appearances with the Salukis, nine of them starts. He struck out 29 and walked just 10 with five hit batsmen in 71 1-3 innings. In 2008, Dunn started 10 games and went 2-6 with a 5.40 ERA, striking out 18 and walking nine in 46 2-3 innings.

As a freshman at Logan, Dunn won six games and struck out 52 batters, leading to his being drafted in the 29th round of the major league draft by the Atlanta Braves. But he chose to return to Logan, where he went 9-1 with a 1.57 ERA.

Brewers’ first-round pick Eric Arnett pitched tonight for Helena in his pro debut.

The 21-year-old righty’s first outing was not outstanding. He gave up two earned runs in an inning of work with one hit, two walks and no strikeouts.

The Brewers 2008 compensatory pick (32nd overall) Jake Odorizzi made his 2009 debut tonight as well. The righty started the game and pitched four innings while giving up six hits, three walks and five earned runs. He tallied one strikeout. The 19 year old was 1-2 in 11 games, four starts, last year with a 3.48 ERA.

Catcher Cameron Garfield, who was 5-5 in his pro debut last night, is human. He is merely 1-3 with a double, a walk, an RBI and two runs scored tonight. His average dropped to .750.

Helena was losing 8-7 in the eighth inning at the time of this post.