ALDS G5: Rangers beat Rays 5-1 to advance to LCS. Wow.

Wow. I started this site in December 1998, and 12 full seasons and a handful of playoff games later, I finally got to write this..
The Rangers have won their playoff series and have advanced to the ALCS.
I mean WOW. It almost seems so surreal. I’m actually at a loss for words right now. Although I wasn’t during the game. I burned it up on Twitter a bunch. I’ll be posting my game summary in the form of my twitter updates below. But a few bullet points to mention.
Twice we scored runs with a runner on second with a ball that did not leave the infield. That was pretty darned cool. That we got enough runs to win the game that way? Even more amazing.
Cliff Lee. Saw a funny tweet during the game about giving him the entire amount of money from the new Fox Sports Southwest contract. :) I mean wow. I think most Ranger fans are ready for Greenberg/Ryan to give him a blank check to stay. He had some nice curveballs working tonight.
Hamilton looks like the 2009 version of himself at the moment. Looks weak and lost at the plate. Not good.
We now have a record for most strikeouts in a division series by team, and an AL record for a single pitcher. Wheeee!
Carlos Pena looked bad too. Strikeouts all over the place. You’d think he was Brad Wilkerson or something.
My hometown Phillies and my adopted team the Rangers are in the final four. Uh-oh. I’m getting dangerously close to not knowing what to do with myself in the World Series. :)
Below is my tweet list. There’s some cool stuff in there. I’ll be out at the park on Friday for Game 1. Hope to see you out there, too!

• Ok, here we go. Game 5. Twitter ready. iPad scoring software ready. Go #Rangers
• MLBN: Ripken, Leiter, and Larkin all picking #Rays to win. The host picked the #Rangers though.
• RT @aandro: In-game guy @ The Trop is awful. 30-year-old men don’t need to flip cap backwards, act like teenagers. >> Did you say Tony Romo?
• Good that Elvis wasn’t greedy rounding first. #Rangers
• RT @VictorRojas29: Catwalk overkill…please stop. #txrangers v. #rays
• Andrus scores on a 3-1 groundout that never leaves the infield. Run Run #Rangers
• Nice catch to get the foul out by Moreland. Nice job not falling on his face, too. #Rangers #ShutdownInningInFirst
• Price had 18 pitches in this 1st inning, as opposed to 24 in Game 1. #Rangers
• Kinsler got a single, but Frenchy grounded into a DP. Oh well. #Rangers
• Easy 1-2-3 for Cliff Lee in the second. That’s why we got him. Give this man a blank check! #Rangers
• Three k’s the first time through the lineup for Price. #RaysStillLosing. #Rangers
• Bengie Molina breaks out the Antlers! #Rangers – His first stolen base since 2006!
• David Price has 51 pitches through 3 innings. #WorkThoseCounts #Rangers
• Infield hit by Bartlett gets two on against Lee in third. Weak hits like that annoy me. #Rangers
• Hamilton totally airmails a throw to the plate, allowing the runner to get to second. Bad idea there, Josh. #Rangers
• Nice fielding by the #Rangers to tag out the runner heading to the plate, but also to keep the runner at second. #HeWasTagged
• #Rays tie the game in the third on a few singles. Could have been a heck of a lot worse. #NoThanksToHamilton #Rangers
• Man that double by Cruz went to the only place it couldn’t have gone out. His watching the ball cost him a triple, though. #Rangers
• And there’s the payback. Cruz steals third, Shoppach airmails it into left, we score second run. #Rangers #AntlersAllOverThePlace
• The pitches by Price after the airmailed throw to third look a lot less controlled. Here comes Price’s emotions. #Rangers #PourItOn
• Watching Jeff Franceour at the plate.. He looks like ol Dumpmaster D himself, Mark DeRosa. #Rangers
• Nice curveball by Cliff Lee to strike out Carlos Pena again on a called strike three. #Rangers
• “@DFishDesign: Nice curveball by Cliff Lee to strike out Carlos Pena again on a called strike three. #Rangers”. Ditto for Upton.
• There’s the strikeouts for Lee. Struck out the side in the fourth. Looking good. #Rangers
• Nice atbat for Elvis after coming back from an 0-2 count. #Rangers
• Impressive at bat by Jason Bartlett against Lee in the fifth. #Rangers
• 5 out of last 6 outs by Lee being k’s sets the record for K’s by a staff in the division series. #Rangers #MoveOverPadres
• That’s a home run by Hamilton in our park. Darnit. #Rangers
• Is it just me, or did Guerrero seem to be swinging harder than usual at this at bat? #Rangers
• #Rangers get another run on a grounder that didn’t leave the infield scoring a guy from second. #AntlersAllOverThePlace
• Unless Price’s foot was off the back of bag, it looked like Kinsler was out on the play that scored Guerrero. Rays didn’t argue. #Rangers
• RT @Evan_P_Grant: Lee just set AL Division Series record with 17 strikeouts in the series. Mussina, Randy Johnson each had 16.
• Carlos Pena is striking out so much, you’d think Brad Wilkerson was wearing his uniform. #Rangers #GoCliffLee
• Very quick 7 pitch 1-2-3 inning by Grant Balfour in the 7th to shut down the #Rangers – much better than Price.
• Is anyone watching the 2003 MLB Season Summary show on MLBN right now? #RatingsOfZero
• My 5yr old daughter colored a bunch of #Rangers Captain pages for me to have when I watched the game tonight. I love my kids!
• RT @aandro: Someone may need to start Kelly Shoppach’s car for him tonight if the #Rays lose.
• We’re through seven innings, up 3-1. Cliff Lee struck out a million. CJ & O’Day up in pen, one’s got to be coming in next inning. #Rangers
• Longoria needs to stop worrying about who has his hat, and start worrying about catching the ball. #Rangers #Thanks
• The second inning ending double play for the #Rangers this game – Grrrrrrrr.
• Jason Bartlett if finally out, after going 3-3 with a double up to this point. #Rangers
• Ten strikeouts by Cliff Lee through 7.2 innings! #Rangers
• And Cliff Lee follows up the 10th strikeout with a 1-2-3 10 pitch bottom of the 8th. #Rangers #WhoIsClosingGame
• HUGE FREAKIN INSURANCE runs there with a two run home run by Capt Uppercut! #Rangers #ICanSmellItNow
• RT d_a_cameron: Really happy for @NewbergReport.
• We win. Wow. Just freaking wow. Thank you to Jack Zduriencik. #Rangers
• The #Phillies and #Rangers are both in the final four in MLB. My head inches closer to disappearance in a baseball black hole.
• RT BattingStanceG: Tonight, even Justin Smoak’s family & friends are thinking Rangers were brilliant for ditching him. #MLB #CliffLee