The Mets won't know for certain until March whether or not Johan Santana, attempting a comeback from left shoulder surgery, will be ready to go by the start of the regular season.

If he is, Santana will be the clear favorite to pitch Opening Day based on his past successes, including two Cy Young awards and four All-Star seasons.

If not, the assignment probably will fall to R.A. Dickey, the club's most consistent starting pitcher last season.

"I certainly hope that's not the case," Dickey said. "My first reaction would obviously be that I would be honored to do it. But it would be by default, because Johan is our ace."

Though Dickey was only 8-13 in 32 starts last season, he posted a 3.28 ERA in building upon his breakout 2010 campaign.

After battling a...

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New York Mets left-hander Johan Santana is hopeful of being ready to pitch on opening day but is making no promises after missing the 2011 season while recovering from shoulder surgery. "Time will tell," Santana said Thursday.

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Sixteen months after shoulder surgery, Johan Santana hopes to be back on the mound for the New York Mets when the season starts. He just doesn't want to commit to it. "It's going to be tough for me to guess, because I don't know how I'm going to be in two months," the injured left-hander said Thursday.

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Sixteen months after shoulder surgery, Johan Santana hopes to be back on the mound for the New York Mets when the season starts. He just doesn't want to commit to it. "It's going to be tough for me to guess, because I don't know how I'm going to be in two months," the injured left-hander said Thursday.

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Johan Santana hopes to be back on the mound for the New York Mets when the season starts yet doesn't want to guess whether he'll actually be ready by then. The two-time Cy Young Award winner is coming back from shoulder surgery and hasn't pitched in the major leagues since Sept. 2, 2010. After making three minor league rehabilitation outings totaling eight innings last July 28, Sept.

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According to the New York Mets, Johan Santana, who missed all of last season recovering from shoulder surgery, may not be ready for opening day 2012. Are you the least bit surprised? Not if you're a Mets fan. "We do have some question marks, of course, with Santana being...

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New York Mets ace Johan Santana missed all of last season after having surgery in September of 2010 to repair a torn capsule in his left shoulder. The initial hope had been that he'd reappear on the mound at Citi … Continue reading ?

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The next time we see Johan Santana on the mound in the majors will be next season. The New York Mets have ruled out the possibility of Santana returning to the team this September, meaning the 2011 season will be a total wash for the two-time Cy Young winner.

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The slim chance of Johan Santana getting back to the major leagues this season even for a day ended Wednesday when the New York Mets announced that he would not pitch his scheduled minor league rehab game Thursday. The Mets said that the decision was Santana's and was not...

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New York Mets left-hander Johan Santana is unlikely to pitch for the Mets before the end of the season, manager Terry Collins told ESPN New York on Saturday. The Mets had hoped the former Cy Young winner would return before the end of the season after looking strong in two rehab...

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