It does not often happen in sports that you get what you pay for, but the Boston Red Sox have gotten more than they expected from Curt Schilling. They got an ace when all they were hoping for was a king.

When the Red Sox made the deal to land the hard-throwing Schilling last spring, skeptics in Boston feared this might be the latest chapter in the seemingly endless saga called "The Curse of the Bambino.''

Schilling appeared to many to be damaged goods. At 37, he was coming off an 8-9 year with the Arizona Diamondbacks in which he twice went on the disabled list. If there was one thing they didn't need in Boston it was another ''ace'' who is always hurt.

After all, they already had Pedro Martinez, a power pitcher whose right wing was as fragile as a dove's. Two aces on the DL simultaneously would be a fatal full house for the Red Sox.

But Red Sox general manager Theo Epsteain saw some things people in Boston missed when he looked at Schilling's 2003 record. He knew Schilling's record was 8-9, but he also saw a 2.95 ERA. He saw a guy who struck out 194 hitters. In other words, he saw the same dominating pitcher who won 22 games in 2001 and 23 in 2002. The only thing missing was a full, healthy season and a little luck.

What Epstein and the Red Sox's medical team concluded was that Schilling was the same big, strong horse he'd been since coming into his own with the Phillies. He had an arm and a body that could endure a lot of innings, and an overpowering style that was only enhanced by the fact that he also really knows how to pitch, which can't be said for all practitioners of the trade presently in the major leagues.

The question then was would they gamble more than $12 million this year and a similar amount next season knowing that if Schillilng broke down they would be pilloried and if he pitched like he used to he would become a rival of Martinez's, a scenario that also had a downside potential.

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After much discussion, the Sox made the move, and Schilling has been everything they could have hoped for. He has been their ace, frankly. The Red Sox claim that they have two aces, certainly to soothe any potential ruffled Martinez feathers. But the fact of the matter is it has been Schilling who has been their best pitcher through most of the season and certainly during the recent stretch of games that got them back in the AL East pennant race.

Schilling won 21 games this season, and he could have had more if Red Sox closer Keith Foulke had done his job.

Schilling was the American League's first 20-game winner this season and has won eight straight without a loss, a streak that has coincided with the Red Sox's recent surge.

"That's why we brought him here,'' manager Terry Francona said of Schilling, who he also managed with the Phillies, "to be the type of pitcher he's been.''

The type of pitcher he's been is the ace of the staff, no matter what Pedro might say. Ruffling the feathers of the hyper-sensitive Martinez, who is 16-7, is never wise, so Francona and the Sox avoid it at all cost.

Yet the facts are the facts — no one has been more impressive than Schilling.

He has his third 20 win season in the last four years and is 11-1 in 17 starts at Fenway Park. He is first in all of baseball in wins, first in the American League in winning percentage, second in the American League in ERA at 3.28, third in innings, strikeouts (197) and WHIP (walks and hits divided by innings thrown) and seventh in batting average against, an aggregate .244. What those numbers spell out is clear to anyone who knows baseball.

They spell out D-O-M-I-N-A-N-T.

Schilling has been the rock of the Sox, let there be no mistaking that. He has richly rewarded them for deciding to risk that $12 million.

The ace is the pitcher you can count on. He's the one who stops losing streaks. He is the one who shuts the door in big games. He is the one his teammates feel they can rely on no matter how badly things went the night before.

More than any other pitcher on the roster, Curt Schilling has done all those things in Boston this summer. If he can do one more thing — if somehow he can reverse the curse — he will be more than the ace of the Red Sox. He'll be a saint, superhero and savior all rolled into one.

Curt Schilling will be a god if the Sox win it all this year. Pedro Martinez has been very good. On some nights he's been brilliant. But Curt Schilling has been the rarest of things in major league baseball these days. He's been a guy who earned every nickel of the money they paid him, and then some.