Curt Schilling, truth be told, is about as baffled as the rest of us. He was always a good pitcher. Occasionally great. But now, at age 35, he is following his fantastic 2001 season with one of the best pitching performances in the history of the game. He has to wonder: What has changed?

"I don't think last year gave me more confidence," he says. "It's given me a chance to see there's another level to get to. The postseason showed me that. You have to learn along the way."

	Curt Schilling is a combined 43-10 with a 2.87 ERA over the last two seasons.

Schilling isn't the only pitcher today who has learned enough to still be dominating on the downslope of his 30s. A quick scan of the National League ERA leaders springs two thoughts to mind: One, why aren't there more major leaguers named Elmer, and two, when will Schilling, Randy Johnson (age 38), Tom Glavine (36) and Greg Maddux (36) ever slow down?

The war horses are still kicking. In fact, they're kicking the you-know-what of the rest of baseball. Yes, we're enjoying a refreshing influx of young pitchers who have already thrived -- Barry Zito, Mark Mulder, Roy Oswalt, Javier Vazquez, Roy Halladay, the list goes on and on -- and several others who should become stars, most notably Mark Prior and Josh Beckett. But what in the world is keeping those four old guys not just on top of their game, but the game itself?

Never before in the history of the game have four pitchers this old dominated like this. Schilling is 21-4 with a 2.73 ERA and could become the first 20-game winner in 83 years to have more wins than walks (23 so far). Johnson (19-4, 2.44) has been nearly as good, some say even better, for the defending-champion Diamondbacks. Meanwhile, Glavine (11-5, 2.71) and Maddux (16-7, 2.65) could be ending their decade-long run in Atlanta together with the same success as when they began. Add to these guys Roger Clemens (40), Jamie Moyer (39) and the still-successful David Wells (39), Kenny Rogers (37) and Al Leiter (36), and you have to wonder if Ponce de Leon is out bobbing on the waiver wire.

As far as explanations for why these stars are maintaining their effectiveness, it's hard to downplay the effect of improved surgical methods. Before Frank Jobe, James Andrews and friends, young pitchers who blew out their elbow or shoulder often went back to the family farm. Now they go to rehab and wind up throwing even harder than they used to. (Just ask Billy Koch.) There probably was a pitcher as talented as Clemens in the 1920s or '30s who hurt his arm just as Clemens did when he was 23, but never regained his effectiveness; Clemens instead went under the knife and has since won six Cy Young Awards and close to 300 games. It's easy to forget now that Schilling's arm was hanging by its sinews just three years ago -- too bad we never heard from him again.

	Oldies, But Goodies
	How the top 35 and older regular starting pitchers have performed this season (through Aug. 27):
	Pitcher	IP	W-L	BB	SO	ERA
	Johnson	213.2	19-4	61	279	2.44
	Glavine	187	16-7	58	106	2.65
	Maddux	156.1	11-5	36	92	2.71
	Schilling	214	21-4	23	266	2.73
	Moyer	192	12-6	38	122	3.19
	Wells	169.1	15-6	43	113	3.93
	Rogers	173	12-7	57	78	3.95
	Clemens	144.2	11-4	51	155	4.17

"I'm a year stronger than last year," Schilling says. "I don't feel a year older."

One underappreciated weapon these pitchers wield is the experience all their years have brought. Schilling, Johnson, Maddux and Glavine have pitched more than 12,300 career innings among them -- enough to stage 162 straight complete games against each other for more than four years. Schilling adds to his information database by cataloguing every at-bat against every hitter on his laptop; the others do it in their heads.

Maddux's mantra of "getting at-bats over with" has influenced, however indirectly, almost every pitcher of his time. Countless pitchers will tell you, "I didn't know this when I came up, but the best pitch in baseball is strike one." Even power pitchers now appreciate this. Johnson, whose control didn't need to be perfect for him to succeed, has turned to efficiency as his main focus as he gets older: "I'm looking to get quick outs," he says. "Save stamina -- maybe save some for the next start."

"It's fun to watch him work," Clemens says of Maddux. "He makes everything look simple. We were joking -- I said I'd fine him if he put his uniform in the wet bag when he was done pitching. I mean, he throws 80 pitches and doesn't break a sweat."

Aging's claws get ahold of every pitcher eventually, of course. Hall of Famer Lefty Gomez said that as he got older it felt as if someone had moved the plate back 15 feet. Satchel Paige, who pitched into his 50s, claimed it was a question of mind over matter. "If you don't mind, it doesn't matter," he quipped. But what else can you do to stall the inevitable decline?

Jim Kaat won 20 games for the 1975 White Sox when he was 37, and stayed on the hill until he was 44. The current Yankees announcer says that the best decision he made was to spend time with a strength and conditioning coach in the late '70s, before such working out was en vogue. "I had a chance to be a bit of a pioneer," he says. He also began doing elbow exercises that we now take for granted. Pitchers call the modern regimen by one word -- "Jobes" -- after the doctor they never want to see.

Kaat also cites the experience factor for keeping his career alive while his arm faded. "You know yourself and your pitching better," he says. "There isn't the indecision like when you're younger. And you know more about your body. I realized that I didn't have to work harder, but longer. So I went to spring training around January 15 and eased into it."

All Schilling, Johnson, Glavine and Maddux seem to be easing into these days is their annual place in the Cy Young Award voting. They've practically squatted on the thing -- every year, there they are, among the top five and challenging the young guns to catch them. They still haven't.

"Have I peaked yet?" Johnson asks. "I don't know."

Step in the box, hitters, and find out.

Alan Schwarz is the Senior Writer of Baseball America magazine and a regular contributor to ESPN.com.