Peter Gammons has a good take on Jhonny Peralta’s presence on the Tigers’ playoff roster. The easy part, which others have observed: he served his time and is eligible, so what’s the problem? The part fewer people acknowledge: There are jobs and careers on the line based on how a team that is expected to win does, so there is a huge incentive for the Tigers to play Peralta no matter what people think about it.

But this nugget — passed off casually in the way that only someone with Gammons’ access can pull off — just makes me shake my head:

There are several Red Sox players who have complained privately that Peralta is allowed to play. They wonder what remains in his body.

Call me crazy, but I question whether they’d be complaining privately if it was their teammate who had come off a suspension.

People talked a bit after the Biogenesis suspensions — and the agreement of most players to not appeal — about how it might weaken the union. I doubt that. It made a lot of sense for most of those guys not to appeal. But one thing that can weaken the union is players themselves questioning the legitimacy of the drug testing and punishment system. And when you complain about a player who has done his time coming back, you are questioning the system’s legitimacy.