Sloppy defense. Poor fundamentals. Lack of focus and concentration. Manager Eric Wedge was fed up with all of it following Thursday night’s series finale with the Yankees.

“Ultimately,” Wedge said, “if you’re not ready to make the play, regardless of what excuse you come up with, it doesn’t matter. Either you make the plays or you don’t. If you don’t, you’re gonna lose.”

“I’ve yelled, I’ve talked, I’ve reasoned,” Wedge said. “I’ve taken every approach I can take. If they want to point a finger at me, it’s my responsibility and I welcome that. But the bottom line is everybody’s got to feel that way. Twenty-five guys have to come to the park every day and work to get better.”

Wedge is finally taking a stand. I’m glad he aired out some of his frustrations and I give him credit for doing so. He has been patient with this club long enough and it’s about time he gets on his players a little bit. Nobody else on the team seems to care or show any emotion when they lose. Wedge has taken a rather passive approach to a team as fundamentally poor as the Indians have been this season and it is refreshing to hear the ranting side of Eric because somebody has to take some accountability for the way they’ve been playing defensively. It simply is pathetic and Wedge may make some changes in the near future.

“We’re close to making some adjustments,” he said. “I’ll say that. That’s not a threat. It’s a fact.”

I know Peralta isn’t the quickest on his feet and can’t get to every ball but if it is within a step of you, the play MUST be made. Thursday’s botched ground ball by Peralta makes me wonder what in the world is going on inside the kid’s head. Whether the multi-million dollar contract is filling his brain or not, he needs to start taking his job seriously. Lack of focus has been a problem all season with Peralta. Getting his attention by benching him is an option, but that has already been done this season and his defense still has not improved. He may never make the spectactular plays but all we need is for him to make the routine ones. Peralta can still be a key player in the future of this team because he’s young and has great upside offensively, but if he continues to play lackluster ball on the defensive side, the club may have to reconsider their plans with him. Defense in any sport is the key to winning and in baseball, winning teams absolutely need to have solid defense up the middle.

The Indians enjoyed a rare week where they played solid, fundamental baseball. They even were able to string together a four-game winning streak. However, what has haunted the disappointing Tribe all season long has returned for the last two games of the New York series. More errors and sloppy play partly led to the Tribe’s 10-4 loss Thursday night. Starter Cliff Lee gave up seven runs in six innings but only four were earned as Jhonny Peralta and Franklin Guitierrez each committed an error in the fifth, leading to three-run inning for the Yanks. Peralta somehow let an easy double play ball scoot right under his glove and Guitierrez missed a liner in the outfield. As New York was able to open up a big lead, Randy Johnson was on his game and beat the Indians for the second straight time. Jason Giambi and Derek Jeter each had three RBIs in the game.

At least the All-Star break is only a few days away because this team needs a breather.