The Florida Marlins spring training ticket sales are up this year:

The Marlins, who have slashed the payroll, will report to spring training without Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, Carlos Delgado and Paul Lo Duca. But the team already has sold 28,247 tickets — through group, mini-plan and season-ticket packages — for games this spring, an increase of nearly 17 percent compared to this time last year, said Rob Rabenecker, general manager of Roger Dean Stadium.

"I was going into the season expecting to see a drop of 20 to 25 percent and it's been just the opposite," he said. "I'm pleasantly surprised."