Thursday Morning Rockpile:

Yesterday's win over Ben Sheets at Milwaukee was welcome news, and a good sign that this road trip leading into the All-Star Break may turn out better than almost any of us could have imagined. Garrett Atkins' two homeruns were huge, obviously, but none bigger than the first one off Sheets that set the tone for the rest of the game. While no further ground was made up, unless you count the Giants, which I still don't, none was lost either, so the hope that we can wind up being the best of the worst seems to have remained in place. Today we rely on the arm of another former Brewer in Jorge de la Rosa to follow Glendon Rusch's lead in beating his former teammates.

Several draft picks tied up with the CWS have signed, including Kiel Roling, Stephen Dodson and Eric Wetzel.

Brian Fuentes remains the one Rockie most likely to be moved, but the words of Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak about not jumping in to "rentals" make it seem that his team is balking at where the bidding has gone, so we could probably scratch St Louis off the list of most likely destinations, despite Tony La Russa's pleadings for help with his bullpen. The Rays continue to make the most sense, as they have the surplus of talent and the greatest need.