Gene J. Puskar, Associated Press Arizona Diamondbacks' Eric Byrnes, right, is tagged out by Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Freddy Sanchez while attempting to stretch a fourth-inning double into a triple in baseball action yesterday at PNC Park. The Diamondbacks won 5-4 in 11 innings. Click photo for larger image. Related articles All-Star Game Voting: Jason Bay moves into 3rd place among outfielder cotenders Pirates Notebook: Randa returns to Kansas City Pirates Scouting Report: Kansas City Royals Stats Geek: Paulino gives lift to Pirates' pitching staff Game Statistics Provided by Forecaster Pirates vs. Diamondbacks box score Game play-by-play

Jim Tracy held his thumb and forefinger about a half-inch apart.

"We have to understand that's how far away we are from being a good club," the Pirates' manager said yesterday.

This was moments after the Pirates "impossibly" lost another one-run game, a 5-4, 11-inning decision against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The loss dropped the Pirates' record to 26-45, which includes a festering sore of 7-21 in one-run games.

By all rights, that one-run record should be 8-20.

The Pirates, who trailed, 4-0, in the fifth inning, rallied on home runs by Jose Bautista and Jeromy Burnitz and a run-scoring single by Ronny Paulino to forge a 4-4 tie entering the bottom of the ninth inning.

Then they promptly loaded the bases on a single by Jack Wilson, another single by Sean Casey -- on which Wilson scampered to third -- and an intentional walk to Jason Bay.

The Diamondbacks brought their infield and outfield in, meaning any kind of contact by Burnitz or Freddy Sanchez almost certainly would end the afternoon.

But Burnitz struck out on a slider from Greg Aquino. So did Sanchez. And so did Jose Castillo.

"I counted two sliders [of the nine strikes] that were strikes," Tracy said. "The rest were balls in the dirt."

That the Pirates chased.

"In that situation, the onus is on the pitcher," Tracy said. "He has absolutely no breathing room. Everything is in your favor -- and we didn't make contact."

The Pirates had another similar opportunity against Aquino in the 10th.

Paulino lined a double off the top of the left-field wall, missing a walk-off home run by perhaps that ubiquitous half-inch.

Jose Hernandez dutifully sacrificed Paulino to third base -- where he stayed rooted while Bautista fouled out and Jack Wilson bounced to second.

The Diamondbacks won it in the 11th on pinch-hitter Johnny Estrada's single.

"There were too many chances for us not to win," Tracy said. "It's hard to believe we didn't win the game."

Maybe. Maybe not.

There's a saying in baseball that good teams win close games. Bad teams don't.

The Pirates are 13-25 in games decided by one or two runs.

"All I'm trying to do is make sure we understand as a group that in order to take another step over yet another hurdle that we have to be able to understand how to respond in each and every one of those situations in games like that," Tracy said. "That's all. No finger pointing. No names being mentioned. None of that."

Tracy was referring to a comment he made after a loss Sunday to Minnesota, which to some appeared to have him indict shortstop Jack Wilson as a reason the Pirates lost after being in a 1-1 tie in the eighth inning.

Wilson made a good play on a tough soft ground ball hit by Luis Castillo with two outs, but Wilson's off-balance throw was just late to first base.

"I've seen that play be made," Tracy said.

Yesterday, he expanded on that statement.

"The bottom line is this, OK?," he said. "There were some plays during the course of the series against the Twins that I've seen be made -- and be made on a regular basis. That's all I'm saying. I'm not pointing fingers at my players. Let's [be sure to] get that straight right now.

"The reality is, I'm not interested in managing a fourth- or fifth- or sixth-place club. As we go along here, there will be that understanding. Our players have a job to do. I have one to do every day. My job is to do everything I can possibly do to put them in a situation where there's a chance for them to win the game. Case closed."

Hardly.

"This has nothing to do with any specific player," Tracy continued. "They need to come in here and understand what's expected each day. That's all. I don't know what it's been like here in the past. And quite frankly it's none of my business. But I know how I do things as a major-league manager. This is not my first rodeo, OK?

"And I know this -- I don't show players up on the field. I don't show players up in front of a television camera. I don't do any of that kind of stuff -- and I won't. I think my players recognize that.

"I want this team to understand that it's not OK to play good for 7²/₃ innings of a 1-1 game when your starter [Oliver Perez] has matched a guy [Johan Santana] who's probably the best right now in the American or National League, and with two outs and nobody on in the eighth inning they score four runs?

"I mean, come on, let's go. What place do you want to come in every year? That's all."

Hardly.

"There's a mentality you develop when you become a winner," Tracy said. "That's something I work day in and day out with this group of players. There's a mentality you have to develop.

"I'm very interested in this group of players because there's a ton of them who are young enough to get to the point where they will understand it as long as they hear it enough and as long as they recognize the fact they, hey, it's not OK to be mediocre. And it's not OK to give things away. It's not."