Even with the rip the heart from your chest and stomp that sucker flat road trip, the Florida Marlins are still doing well as measured by television ratings .

The Marlins' low attendance figures suggest lukewarm fan interest, but TV ratings paint a different picture.

With the Marlins off to a strong start, their games on FSN Florida and Sun Sports -- through Tuesday -- were averaging a 3.4, up 6 percent over 2007 and the team's highest at this point of the season since 2005. A Marlins-Mets game last week drew a 5.2, the best for any Marlins game since 2006, and Tuesday's Braves game drew a solid 4.2.

For perspective, in 2006-07, the season after the Heat won the NBA title, Heat games on Sun Sports averaged a 2.93 rating. The Heat's average dropped to a 2.02 during last season's 15-67 disaster.

(For those scoring at home, one local ratings point equals 15,360 homes.)

And that ain't too bad.