BRADENTON, Fla. -- With the way the Pirates are currently positioned offensively, the balance of power, per se, swings very heavily to the left side. Literally.

As things sit now, the projected starting lineup features five hitters who bat from the left side. And it's quite plausible that all five will be slotted into the first six lineup spots.

Consider this: If the left-handed-hitting Nyjer Morgan is in the leadoff spot and followed by Freddy Sanchez, the Pirates could very easily find four left-handed bats in a row to follow -- Nate McLouth, Ryan Doumit, Adam LaRoche and Brandon Moss.

It is important to keep in mind that Doumit can hit from the right side as well. And assuming he hits in the clean-up spot again this season, that would provide at least a break in a string of left-handed bats should a left-handed pitcher be on the mound.

There are benefits to this strong left-handed-hitting presence, one of which is the fact that PNC Park favors left-handed hitters with a short right-field porch. But there also have to be some concerns.

"You'd like to mix in some right-handed hitters," manager John Russell said. "Occasionally, yeah, it's not a good feeling when you're sitting there with four left-handers in a row and then they bring in a specialist left-hander against you and you're going to have to battle. But that's what we have. That's what we're dealt.

"We have what we have, and we feel very confident that the hitters we have will be able to produce for us vs. left or right," Russell added. "Again, though, it would be nice for us to find that right-handed bat complement."

Before looking at the potential right-handed-hitting options, though, it's important to note how these left-handed hitters have done against left-handed pitching. In other words, should there be significant concern about their ability to produce against southpaws?

Encouragingly, all five left-handed-hitting starting position players have a career average of .250 or better against lefties. In fact, Moss's .266 career average against lefties is higher than his .244 career batting average against right-handers.

The biggest discrepancy in production comes from Morgan, who has a career batting average and on-base percentage of .307 and .353, respectively, against right-handers. Those numbers dip to .250 and .339 verses left-handers.

Doumit's career average is a bit higher against left-handers than it is against right-handers, a testament to his ability to also hit from the right side. And for LaRoche and McLouth, the career batting averages don't suffer too drastically going from right-handed pitchers to left-handed ones.

That doesn't seem too concerning, right?

However, the biggest issue is with the power numbers. All of the middle-of-the order left-handed hitters have power numbers significantly skewed to favor facing right-handed pitching.

While McLouth hits an average of one home run in every 23 at-bats against right-handers, that ratio is one every 38 at-bats against lefties. Doumit, despite being able to hit from both sides, has similar numbers. In his career, he has gone deep once every 28 at-bats against right-handers, though only once every 40 at-bats against lefties.

For LaRoche, that ratio is one home run in every 20 at-bats against right-handers and one every 28 at-bats against southpaws. Of Moss' eight career big league homers, only one has come against a lefty, though the sample size in terms of at-bats is still quite small for a strong conclusion to be made.

All in all, those power numbers could be a concern for a team that isn't exactly teeming with home run hitters to begin with.

Russell and general manager Neal Huntington have both said that they will keep an eye on how this lefty-dominant lineup produces against left-handed pitching. And the Pirates do intend to give themselves options by keeping right-handed hitting options on the bench. Both also said an eye is being kept on external options as well.

"We've got Craig Monroe in camp, we've got Steve Pearce in camp," Huntington said. "They are guys that we feel are more than capable if the makeup of the club shifts to where we feel like we absolutely have to have a right-handed bat. We'll continue to look at the free agents that are out there. We'll continue to explore trades, not only for the right-handed bat, but for anywhere we can improve ourselves."

That fifth outfield job will likely go to Monroe or Pearce simply because they are right-handed. Remember that the Pirates' fourth outfielder at this point -- Eric Hinske -- is left-handed, as is the team's top backup infielder, Ramon Vazquez.

After a down 2008 campaign, Monroe is looking to regain the type of production that he had with Detroit early in his career. Whether or not he can, though, is still in question. And as for Pearce, there are still questions about his consistency both offensively and defensively, as well as whether a bench role would be a detriment to his development.