Which came first: The Tigers’ dramatically increased payroll _ or their jump in wins in recent years? The chicken or the egg?  
        Frankly, the one begets the other.
        It is easy to see where at least some of that franchise-record $139 million in salaries this season is coming from.
        Through Thursday, the Tigers have played in front of 30,000 or more fans for 62 consecutive home games, dating back to May 24, 2007.
        And, with advance ticket sales stronger than ever this year, there is no end in sight.
        In the world championship season of 1968, playing in a ballpark that seated more than 50,000, the Tigers only topped 30,000 30 times all year. In 1984, they reached that plateau 56 times.
        Wednesday’s throng of 32,348, on a sunny day so cold that the grounds crew had to scrape ice off the tarp that had covered the infield overnight, was the biggest second-game crowd in Tigers history.
        Success sells.