Do you know who is the best team in Major League Baseball that no one hears about?

Our own San Diego Padres.

With the top pitching staff in all of baseball, the surprising Padres continue to put up wins despite a sometimes anemic offense and a young core lacking significant experience. Despite this amazing story, the Padres win in anonymity while lesser teams like the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees get around-the-clock coverage on ESPN.

“We’re not worried about whether ESPN or any media outlet are paying any attention to us,” Padres manager Bud Black told MLB.com. “We’re focused on winning our division and winning ballgames. In many aspects, the lack of attention takes pressure off our guys and that suits us fine.”

Black has a great point. With a young team - six of the Friars' starters have less than three years of Major League service - the less attention the better. If, and when, the Padres do start getting some love for their stellar season thus far, you can bet the younger members of the team will feel the pressure.

When asked if his younger stars will start to feel more pressure the longer the team wins, Black was optimistic he and his veterans on the club can manage it.

“With veterans like Adrian Gonzalez, David Eckstein, and the Hairston brothers, I feel good about the chemistry and have all the confidence we’ll manage it well,” Black said. “But again, we need to focus on winning. It’s still early and there is a lot of baseball left to be played.”

It is still early but San Diego is no fluke. Since firing Kevin Towers as its General Manager and hiring wunderkid Jed Hoyer from the Boston Red Sox, the Padres have made all the right moves. Despite a rather frugal winter, the Padres made some key moves to acquire both good young talent and veterans to round out a competitive, albeit light-hitting, roster.

Veterans John Garland (8-5, 3.13 ERA), and young guns Matt Latos (8-4, 2.93 ERA), Clayton Richard (5-4, 2.75 ERA) have done yeoman's work leading the Padres pitching staff. It’s a staff lacking its top starter, veteran Chris Young, lost to injury early in the year.

Just how dominate has the Padres pitching staff been? Consider:

• The Padres lead MLB with 3.00 ERA, yielding the fewest runs allowed in baseball with 240.

• Opposing hitters are batting just .234 against the Padres, who also field MLB’s top bullpen, including closer Heath Bell, the top closer in all of MLB. Bell is second in saves with 21 and first in ERA with a wickedly low 1.93 ERA over 33 appearances in 2010.

• San Diego’s young staff hasn’t just been winning, they’ve been dominating. With an average of 7.8 strikeouts per nine innings, the Padres have found the power pitching that’s eluded them since Kevin Brown hurled for the Friars in 1998 - their last World Series appearance.

No, the Padres aren’t an east coast-slanted media darling. Instead, this young team just wins, baby. And, if they keep winning, people in the rest of the country will have no choice but to pay attention.

Follow FriarGully, aka Scott Gulbransen, on Twitter @sdgully. You can find him in Section 134 on Wednesdays and Sundays. Just be aware he’s allergic to Cubs and Dodgers fans.