"Dave Duncan emphasized two points Friday afternoon after the Cardinals officially named Derek Lilliquist his successor as pitching coach:

His wife, Jeanine, is doing remarkably well as she confronts brain cancer.

And his decision to step away from the position he held for 16 seasons had nothing to do with Tony La Russa's resignation as manager.

"My intention in a perfect world was to come back and coach in 2012," Duncan said. "It's not perfect yet."

Duncan made clear that Jeanine is responding well to aggressive, cutting edge treatment orchestrated by the Duke University Medical Center. However, the treatment extends well beyond semi-monthly visits to the Durham, N.C., facility and recently called for a second round of chemotherapy. With spring training approaching, Duncan felt Jeanine deserved his primary attention and that baseball would have to go on without him.

"When I realized how hard Jeanine was fighting this thing and how much success they were having with the treatment … I think the decision kind of made itself," Duncan said. "Paying attention to every little detail has been beneficial. She's doing really well. I couldn't do anything to disrupt the process. With the amount of time we would be separated, I just didn't think it was for the best" to return as pitching coach."