Cost of baseball tickets way outta here

It will cost a lot more to root, root, root for the home team this year.

Major League Baseball's average ticket price increased 10.9 percent this season to $25.40, the Team Marketing Report said Friday. That's the steepest increase since a 12.9 rise in 2001.

The World Series champion Red Sox, playing in the major leagues' smallest ballpark, have the highest average at $48.80, up 10.1 percent.

The Chicago Cubs, 100 years removed from their last World Series title, are second at $42.49, up 23.9 percent.

The Yankees, in their final season at Yankee Stadium, have the third-highest average ticket at $36.58, up a big league high 26.1 percent. The Yankees' real average is much higher.

Jon Greenberg, TMR's executive editor, said the team did not provide data and that he did not include the price of premium seating -- which covers a large percentage of New York's tickets. Yankees' box seats near the infield had a list price of $250 this year.

The Mets, in their final season at Shea Stadium, have the fourth-highest average at $34.05, an increase of 20.5 percent. The Chicago White Sox are fifth at $30.28, up 5.2 percent.

NL West champion Arizona has the lowest average at $15.96, even with a 15.7 percent increase. Atlanta was 29th at $17.05 and Pittsburgh 28th at $17.07.

Suspensions on hold: Major League Baseball put the suspensions of Baltimore's Jay Gibbons and Kansas City's Jose Guillen on hold for 10 days, giving lawyers for players and owners more time to reach an agreement toughening their drug rules.

The outfielders were suspended for 15 days each by commissioner Bud Selig on Dec. 6, following media reports linking them to performance-enhancing drugs. The penalties were to start Sunday, when the U.S. portion of the major-league season begins.

"Pretty surprising," Gibbons said after Friday's announcement. "Put it this way: I'm cautiously optimistic -- at least they're talking."

Liriano sent to minors: Francisco Liriano finished spring training strong, striking out seven Pirates. The Twins sent him to the minors anyway.

Liriano held Pittsburgh to 1 run in 5 innings before learning he will start the season in the minor leagues, and the Pirates beat the Twins 3-1 in Fort Myers, Fla.

Manager Ron Gardenhire said he wanted the left-handed Liriano to get at least 2 starts to improve his conditioning and his fastball. At that point, the team will consider calling him up.

After an elbow injury abruptly ended his stellar rookie season, Liriano had Tommy John ligament replacement surgery and didn't pitch in 2007.

Last game at Al Lang Field: Adam Dunn homered and the Cincinnati Reds beat Tampa Bay Rays 6-3 on Friday in the final game at Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., the scenic waterfront site of exhibition games for more than eight decades.

The next time a major-league game is played at this spot, it may well be the Rays' new regular-season home.

Owner Stuart Sternberg revealed plans last fall to replace Tropicana Field with a $450 million open-air ballpark here that partly would be paid for by the sale and development of the domed stadium that opened in 1990 -- eight years before the Rays played their first game.

Under current plans, the team would pay about a third of the cost of building the 34,000-seat stadium that would open on the Al Lang site in 2012.

Around the horn: The Cincinnati Reds plan to cut 40-year-old reliever Mike Stanton (1-3, 5.93 ERA in 69 games last season). … Yankees left-hander Andy Pettitte threw 25 pitches off a bullpen mound Friday and remained scheduled to pitch in a minor-league game Sunday. … Starting for only the second time this spring training, the Mets' Orlando Hernandez allowed 4 hits and a run in 5 innings in the Mets' 4-3 loss to Baltimore.