This week was very special to me due to some visitors from the beautiful aloha state of Hawaii. Last year I played in Hawaii, as most of you know, and while I was there I met a very nice family. Throughout the rest of the off season and through the 2007 season in Frederick we kept in touch and they even sent me cookies and coffee and all kinds of goodies. When they found out that I was playing here in Arizona they planned a trip to come out and watch me play. It was so nice to have my biggest fan Evan (above)  here to see me. It had been a tough week and it was such a nice breath of fresh air to see them and to spend some time with them. Evan writes me letters and texts me once a week to let me know how he is doing in school and baseball. They have really made me feel like family and hopefully one day ill be able to introduce them to my family back home.

As for my experience in the Fall League I do not think it could have gone much better. I have worked very hard and have refined some of my skills which has led me to have a successful fall. I have gotten to go head to head with some of the best players and have held my own. It was good for me to see that I can play out here and make progress in all aspects of my game.

Well thanks to my buddy Chris Hayes I do not believe I will be winning the “blogger of the year” award! However I hope that I have done a fare job at giving you some in site into who I am and what im all about. I have enjoyed this experience more than I thought I ever would. When I found out I was chosen to do this I was a little nervous about how it would go. But with the help of all of you out there across the country it was a lot of fun.This is my last official blog and I hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday season. Thanks again!!!

Brandon

Hey everyone I hope this finds you in good health!

This has been a long week and my body is starting to shut it down. As this season becomes longer and longer all the aches and pains start to become more and more prevalent. My back has been bothering me for a week or so and I think the only thing it needs is a break! Im starting to miss my family a lot and I am really excited to see my brothers. I havent seen them in a few months and I cant wait to hear all about Ole Miss. Also I am excited for cold weather and getting in a deer stand. Im sorry this is such a short entry but I am not feeling well and ill try to add on later on this week. Here are few more Q and A’s God Bless.

I saw that one of your brothers broke a lot of your hitting records at WHS along with Justin Bour, do you see them getting drafted out of college?
I think that all three of those guys have a chance of being drafted. Justin is having a lot of success at George Mason and my brothers are down at Ole Miss. Each of them are big strong guys who put a hurting on the baseball. As long as they mature I don’t think there will be any question whether they play pro ball.

Did the guys at Frederick feel any pressure this year as O’s fans look to the Keys as having quite a few future O’s on the team?
If anything, there was less pressure because we had so much talent on our team. And i think that it showed early but as the season went on and other things started to happen it started to affect the team. It was especially tough to lose our manager Tommy Thompson. He was the heart of our team and when he left he took a lot of us with him.

Are you all mostly friends or are there jealousies that crop up? How about when a guy like Matusz or Wieters joins the team with their huge bonus deals and automatic 40-man roster spots – is there jealousy there? For the most part we are all friends. All that stuff doesn’t bother me in the least. I play everyday for what I can do for the team and also what I can do for myself. All that stuff has nothing to do with me and I know i will have my opportunity in due time.

Have the Orioles given you a clear plan as to how they want to progress you through the farm system? Do you know what you need to accomplish in order to get to the next level?
The communication in our organization is not always the best and to be honest I do not know what their plan is for me. I know what I need to do and I believe it has a lot to do with my defense. Out of high school I was one of the top three defensive players in the draft and I don’t believe I have lost that. I just need to get more comfortable at the positions im playing and go from there. Everyday I am at the field I work at both first and third to make sure im getting better each day.

Once you get drafted and sign with a team, do you automatically become a fan of the parent club, or is it hard to break from the team you’ve liked since childhood? I’ve been an O’s fan since I was 7 – I couldn’t imagine ever switching my allegiance. I grew up in Virginia and because there was no Nationals i was an Orioles fan. So it was easy for me.

What did you think about the playoffs, and specifically the Rays and Phillies? I live in Philadelphia now and it was cool to see the city celebrate, but there were plenty of grumblings about the rain delay game and umpiring in general. Any thoughts?
I really wanted the Rays to win because I have a few buddies on the team. Also I really liked watching them all year. They had a spark that no other team had. They were young and extremely talented and it would of been a great story. As for the Umpires…They were horrible on BOTH sides. I wont say it lost the series or anything like that but it was unbelievably bad and Major League Baseball has got to figure out a way so that it wont happen like that again.

SURPRISE…SURPRISE!!!

Hello everyone I hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween.

Im not sure what happened, but my last entry did not go through so ill have to post it again. Last night we broke our 10 game losing streak with a win in Scottsdale. Nolan had a huge game and the team as a whole played very well. Myself on the other hand had my worst game here in Arizona, But that is baseball and you have to try and learn from what happened and make forward progress.

I am extremely happy with the input I got last week from you guys! The questions were awsome and I hope that I answered them to everyones liking. If you guys have anymore questions feel free to ask. It was actually a lot of fun to answere them. Its kinda cool to see what you guys want to know and for me its a nice way to put myself out there beyond just what I do on the field.

This weekend was extra special for me because my girlfriend came out to see me. She had never been to Arizona and we had a nice dinner in Scottsdale on Halloween. We have been together for a long time now and she has always supported me and my baseball. She loves to come to the games and if you were in Frederick this past season you most likely saw here there. Because I have not been home for a long time its a nice breath of fresh air to see her. She especially liked the fact it was so nice out here considering she is a Virginia Tech and it snowed last week.

I hope everyone has a great week and everyone pray for my cowboys ( they need all the help they can get! ) And again, questions are always welcome!