CHICAGO — In his closing statements to the clubhouse Sunday after a season the Cardinals insisted was always about the years ahead, not this one, manager Oli Marmol praised the team for all its 39 comeback wins and its resilience through injuries and a trade deadline that drained the bullpen.

What they did, he explained, gets them closer to what they must do next.

“We went out in spring training to do something and that was create a style of play that we can be proud of when it comes to not giving in, and they stuck to it,” Marmol said. “The overall determination about how we go about our business – you create that. And then that becomes your norm and your standard and then you get better at the actual game.

“You couple those things together and you can win for a long time.”

The Cardin

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