"Obviously, there's going to be some changes made here, you got to figure," Atkins said. "I might be a part of it; I might not. ... Hopefully, if the Rockies decide to trade me, whatever team I go to, I'll be able to fit right in, and hopefully it's to a winning ballclub.

"There's probably some decent fits out there for me, if that was to be the case. But I don't think the Rockies will be looking to do me any favors. They'll be looking for the best deal, as they should be."

Third baseman Ian Stewart, 23, has come up and played well defensively and supplied power. When Stewart arrived after the All-Star break, Atkins, who will be 29 in December, moved from third to first to replace the injured Todd Helton, who is expected to be return from a back injury in 2009.

Atkins is hitting .289 with 20 home runs, a total he reached for the third straight season Sunday with a three-run shot. That leaves Atkins six games to drive in the five runs he needs to reach 100 for the third consecutive season and add to his team-leading total.

"Obviously, if you told me at the beginning of the year that you're going to lead the team in RBI, that's sweet, that'd be great," Atkins said. "That means I'm going to have a pretty good year. But I don't think that's the case. It's been a frustrating year, an inconsistent year. Definitely, I did some things I'm looking forward to rectifying next year and after that."

Atkins is punishing left-handed pitchers (.374 average) but hitting only .265 against right-handers. Entering the season, he was averaging .292 against lefties and .304 against righties.

Atkins' .331 on-base percentage is well below his marks the last two seasons -- .409 in 2006, when he hit .329 with 29 homers and 120 RBI, and .367 in 2007, when he hit .301 with 25 homers and 111 RBI.

In addition, Atkins is hitting just .228 with runners in scoring position. He has gotten 180 at-bats in such situations, far more than any teammate.