The Associated Press

MIAMI - Karim Garcia was running a bit late to practice Monday when he jogged down a darkened corridor and headed onto the field at Pro Player Stadium. Suddenly, the New York Yankees outfielder jerked his head. The bright glare blinded him.

"Whoa!" he said, scrambling for his shades.

Sunglasses scattered in the clubhouse, bottles of Gatorade strewn in the dugout, players in shorts.

Clearly, the scene had shifted in this World Series, from baseball's most hallowed park to 2267 Dan Marino Boulevard, the address of a stadium originally built for football.

Not that the Florida Marlins mind at all, going into Game 3 tonight tied at a game apiece with the Yankees. Josh Beckett will face New York's Mike Mussina.

"I think our advantage in this park is that people think it's ugly and think it's not a baseball park," Marlins outfielder Jeff Conine said. " ... They always come in and say, 'Oh, the lights are bad' and 'It looks like a football stadium.' I think they just can't get up for playing in a place like this, as compared to a Yankee Stadium or a Camden Yards or a Fenway Park that's got all the history. So, I think it definitely works in our advantage that it is kind of a dreary and glum place to play."

Besides, the ballpark isn't that drab. Not with the overwhelming display of orange-and-teal seats, pulsating music and Cuban cuisine.

"This is different," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "We come in here, see the palm trees. It's weird. It really is weird."

And while Yankee Stadium has Monument Park to honor the likes of Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, the names that ring the facing of the upper deck in Miami include Bob Griese, Larry Csonka and Don Shula, and there's a hot tub for fans down the right-field line.

Venues aside, Florida's biggest edge tonight might be Beckett.

He pitched a two-hit shutout in Game 5 against the Chicago Cubs and came back on two days' rest with four brilliant relief innings in Game 7.

TV RATINGS: More people are watching the World Series on TV than they did last year, even though the Cubs and Red Sox aren't in it. Sunday night's Game 2 of the Series between the Yankees and Marlins posted a national rating of 12.6 with a 20 share for Fox Sports, up 6 percent over last year's rating of 11.9 and 20 share.

The first two games ratings ratings are up 9 percent.

GIAMBI SUBPEONA: Yankee Jason Giambi is among the players subpoenaed by a federal grand jury investigating a company that prescribes nutritional supplements for elite athletes.