DETROIT ? The Detroit Tigers are always happy to see Bill Brown on the 15th of the month because it’s payday and he delivers their checks.

But the Tigers were more excited than usual Monday when the club’s traveling secretary arrived with their paychecks, after recent reports indicated the team was having financial problems.

Brown began passing out checks in the clubhouse about two hours before the Tigers started a two-game series with Boston. His arrival was met with some cheers, and a few players even shouted: “Hey, Brownie is here!”

Following the All-Star break, commissioner Bud Selig claimed a team may not be able to make payroll this week and there was a lot of speculation that the team in question could be the Tigers.

Selig did not identify the team, but a top official of a major league team, speaking on condition of anonymity told the Associated Press that Detroit and Tampa Bay Devil Rays had cash-flow problems earlier this year. Both teams denied any financial difficulties.

One team, which the official didn’t identify, secured additional credit from its bank after baseball provided a letter stating that a payment from the central fund would be made to the team in July, the official said.

Baseball teams can borrow up to $72 million each through a line of credit backed by the sport’s central fund, which collects money from national broadcasting and licensing contracts.