Saturday Rockpile: With the Offseason Officially Underway, Matzek and Tago are Still Trying to Find Their Way

Congratulations to the St. Louis Cardinals, who won their 11th World Series Championship last night with a 6-2 victory over the Texas Rangers. David Freese, who did amazing thing after amazing thing, was named the World Series MVP. For the Cards, it was a dream ending to an almost unforeseen late-season ride (although our 2007 Rockies certainly would have one-upped them and everyone else in baseball history if they would have been able to best Boston). For the Rangers, it was about as heartbreaking of a loss as a team could have. For baseball fans everywhere, it was simply just what our favorite sport needed (although Game 7 was, as is seemingly always the case, a bit anticlimactic).

Now, with the season officially over, it's time for every team to look forward. Optimism for the future will be rampant for the fanbases of all 30 clubs - some more deserving of it than others. Specifically, with our favorite club there is a lot to look forward to, but a lot to worry about as well. Something tells me this uncertainty is the case all across Major League Baseball. The uncertainty is certainly prevalent in our club's case...

Aroldis Chapman and Matt Purke showing pedestrian stuff in AFL - ESPN (Insider Only)
Keith Law has some not-particularly-good news about two upper-echelon Rockies prospects:

Couple of leftover notes from instructional league: Talked to a scout who covered Colorado's instructional league and came away with negative reports on recent first-round picks Tyler Matzek and Peter Tago. Matzek was still stuck in the upper 80s and didn't have command, so the effects of the Rockies' attempt to change his delivery are still lingering. Tago couldn't throw strikes and was down about a full grade on his fastball as well.

I don't know if I would take this to heart too much, as both pitchers saw an increased workload from the prior season, not to mention the fact that they're still trying to work out kinks. Matzek's command may always be an issue, but I think the velocity will come around. As for Law, whatever bone he has to pick with the Rockies' player development staff doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon.

Rockies, Giambi near agreement on option for 2012 season - The Denver Post
One thing that is certain (although not yet "official") about the short-term future is that Jason Giambi will be a part of it. The Giambino, whose .958 OPS led the team this past season, will be 41 years old on opening day. However, he showed that he has the ability to be effective in his role - which doesn't just stop as a bench threat, judging by Troy Tulowitzki's quote in the article (although that's certainly no secret). One guy who may not be part of the team's future is Aaron Cook, whose 2012 option was declined (obviously). The Rockies, however, may still try to bring him back for pennies on the dollar.

Angels To Name Jerry Dipoto GM: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com
Jerry DiPoto, who began his front office career (as well as ended his playing career) with the Rockies, will be named the new GM for the Angels today. DiPoto has been in the D-Backs front office for the past few years, and even ran the team on an interim basis for a short time last season. A couple of shrewd moves that he made while in charge set Arizona up very well for now and for the future.