We are all born mad (dog). Some remain so.
— From "Waiting for Godot" by Samuel "Don't Call Me Josh" Beckett

Not all players in their forties are struggling to achieve mediocrity. Two ex-Braves are leading the National League in ERA. They are, of course, Greg Maddux (1.33) and Tom Glavine (1.38).

Maddux, with Roger Clemens on hiatus, becomes the active leader in wins. He is now reminding fans that until the last few years, the debate as to whom was the best pitcher of his era, him or Clemens, was a hot topic. Maddux, a sure-fire Hall of Famer, saw his star tarnish the last few years but seems reborn this year.

With three wins, he no projects to—what?—forty or so for the season and comparison's to Old Hoss Radbourne abound. However, realistically a return to twenty wins is a definite possibility for Maddux. It would be his third twenty-win season but his first since 1993 (even though he has won two Cy Youngs since then).

That made me wonder what was the longest gap between twenty-win seasons for a pitcher in baseball history. Would 13 years be a new "record"?

The answer is that ten seasons is the most and it was down twice, once recently by a player who won twenty the first time with the Mets and the second time with the Yankees (Who else can say that?). There have only been 25 gaps of five seasons or more. Maddux's ex-teammate Glavine makes the list as does Phil Niekro, another ex-Brave…twice!

Bert Cunningham, you might recall, was Richie's brother in the original Happy Days lineup. I've never heard of this Cone guy though.

Back to Maddux: If he wins twenty, it'll be just the eighth time in baseball history that a forty-something pitcher has done so:

Even if Maddux does not win twenty, he seems like a lock to win at least 15. If so, he will tie Cy Young for the most 15-win seasons ever:

Speaking of which, there was a time when it seemed that the Cy Young Award would be renamed the Greg Maddux. If he wins one this year, it'll be one for Jerome Bettis's thumb, or words to that effect. Here are the multiple Cy Young winners:

So as Maddux and Glavine return to their old glories, the Braves top winner—and the league's—is reliever Oscar Villarreal. He could become the first twenty-game winner to never start a game. Here are the most wins without a start in season: