The Cardinals won't chart a whole new path now that the Chicago Cubs finally won a World Championship.

They won't rethink their competitive model just because the Not-So-Small Bears built a powerful young offensive nucleus by shamelessly tanking multiple seasons.

The organization is going to keep doing what it does. It will stress pitching, pitching and more pitching. It will value player development and hoard young players while trying to maintain a self-renewing talent base.

It will pass on overpriced free agents headed toward their twilight years. It will pay a premium for "rental" players only as a last resort. It will seek value in the trade market, as it did while acquiring Jedd Gyorko after the 2015 season.

The Cardinals want to contend every season while rival franchises rise and fall, rise and fall. That is the mandate set by Bill De Witt Jr.'s rational ownership group.

In this context, extending manager Mike Matheny for three seasons beyond 2017 made sense. While this organization heeds its near-term needs, it maintains the long view too.

While other franchises shift course or even start over, this one just keeps going about its business.