(My Sportsbook) - The 2003 Colorado Rockies have shown signs of improvement and hope for the future both on offense and with their pitching staff, but that was all swept under the rug and forgotten after their recent road trip. The Rockies finished their seven-game swing away from Coors Field on Monday with an 8-0 loss to the lowly New York Mets, as they were swept in the four- game set with the team from the Big Apple and finished just 1-6 on the disastrous road trip.

Colorado has now lost five consecutive games and eight of its last nine, leaving the team 14 games behind the San Francisco Giants in the NL West standings. The clear cut factor in the Rockies' inability to contend for a playoff spot is their struggle to win away games, as they have gone just 20-47 on the road this season but have posted the third-best home record in the National League, going 41-19 at Coors Field.

"I think there's a little comfort level for us," pitcher Denny Stark told the Rocky Mountain News about playing at Coors Field.

Most people, including Colorado manager Clint Hurdle, believe that its more about how you play the game and not where your playing it at. How the Rockies have been playing is uninspiring, as they not only were blanked by the Mets yesterday but also tallied just one hit in the contest against Steve Trachsel.

Pitcher Chin-hui Tsao recorded the only base hit of the game, slapping a double to center field in the sixth inning. When your pitcher has to put an end to a no-hitter/perfect game bid, you know the offense is struggling to regain its confidence.

"This was disappointing," outfielder Jay Payton said in the Rocky Mountain News. "We're not playing well as a team. We were at a point where we were .500 when we went on the road, looking to turn things around, and now...It's hard to look at the wild card. We just need to look at playing better baseball. You try to find a positive note but you can't. We just need to start playing good baseball again."

The Rockies' wild card hopes are a long shot at best, as they trail the Philadelphia Phillies by 10 games in the standings, but a current homestand could breathe life back into this fading team. Colorado will play its next nine contests from the friendly confines of Coors Field, its longest homestand of the season.

While postseason play is no longer a viable possibility for the Rockies, regaining their pride and confidence is. The players and coaches need to regroup and recenter their focus on doing the fundamentals and playing hard every single play, as they know that doing the opposite in recent days has left them where they are today.

"Actually, it's easy to explain," said outfielder Preston Wilson in the Denver Post, when discussing what has gone wrong. "We did a lot of things poorly. We made a lot of physical errors, a lot of mental errors, and when you throw all the things together, you get exactly what we got."

WOMACK TRADED

The Rockies traded infielder Tony Womack to the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday in exchange for minor league pitcher Enmanuel Ramirez. The 33-year-old Womack will join his third team in the majors this season, as the Arizona Diamondbacks traded him earlier this season to the Rockies for minor league pitcher Mike Watson.

This season, in a combined 82 games for Arizona and Colorado, Womack has batted .225 with two homers, 20 RBI and 11 steals. He appeared in 21 games for Colorado and hit .190.

Ramirez, a 23-year-old righthander, has seen action at both Single-A Daytona and Double-A West Tenn this season. He opened the campaign as a reliever at Daytona, going 2-0 with a 3.14 ERA in 11 games. He appeared in 22 games for West Tenn and was 3-1 with a 2.01 ERA.

WHO'S HOT

The recent struggles for the team have yet to affect their superstar Todd Helton, as he has gone 8-for-21 in his past six games played with one home run and five RBI.

Rookie outfielder Rene Reyes has played well for the Rockies since being called up from Triple-A Colorado on July 22 and is batting .333 during August, with a home run and four runs scored.

WHO'S NOT

Shortstop Juan Uribe has also had a tough time over his last 12 games of action, batting just .220 with one RBI and nine strikeouts during the stretch.

COMING UP

The Rockies open a nine-game homestand tonight with a three-game set against the red-hot Florida Marlins. Although Colorado will remain at home this weekend, it will have to face another tough opponent in the Atlanta Braves, as they are scheduled for a three-game series as well, starting on Friday evening.