Angels won't change their summer plans

We do have seasons in Southern California, at least on the sports calendar.

January heralds the season when USC fans worry whether Pete Carroll will leave the Trojans for the NFL. June heralds the season when Lakers fans fret more about the happiness of Kobe Bryant than the happiness of their own family.

July, of course, heralds the season when fans wonder whether their Angels will trade for a big bat.

They won't.

"I don't see anyone that can come in here for two months and hand me a World Series trophy," owner Arte Moreno said.

They won't trade for that big bat, not under this ownership, not if picking up Matt Holliday means giving up two good young pitchers, with no guarantee Holliday would stick around very long.

"I think pitching wins," Moreno said. "If your pitching can't keep you in the game, I don't think you can win a championship."

This isn't just a Moreno thing. The Angels have not traded a pitcher of any consequence since 1996 -- in the same month the Walt Disney Co. bought the team from the Autry family -- when they traded Lee Smith so Troy Percival could ascend to closer.

Bill Stoneman and Mike Scioscia put pitching first when they arrived in Anaheim in 1999, and Moreno embraced the philosophy when he bought the team in 2003. On the American League team that waves an L.A. banner, at least, the management is on the same page.

There is no need for the Colorado Rockies to trade Holliday, arguably the best outfielder in the National League. The Rockies are not hopelessly out of the NL West race, and they should be in position to win next year even if they do not win this year.

Holliday is signed for $9.5 million this year and $13.5 million next year, with free agency to follow. As the Rockies survey the market, gauging whether they could fill three needs by trading Holliday now, potential trade partners worry about the startling disparity between his career numbers at home and on the road.

In 329 games at Coors Field, he is batting .363, with 79 home runs. In 311 games away from Coors Field, he is batting .277, with 39 home runs.

"If I get traded, I think I'll be all right," Holliday said. "Everybody is more comfortable when they play at home. You play 81 games there.

"I guess I'll hear that forever if I play at Coors Field."

Said Colorado pitcher Aaron Cook: "I wouldn't want to pitch to him anywhere."