MLB.com

By Ian Browne / MLB.com

The Fenway faithful welcomed Andy Dominique to the Majors on Tuesday. (Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

When you love the game, you deal with those things.

In the eighth inning of Tuesday night's contest at Fenway Park, Dominique didn't have to deal with any of those minor league inconveniences. At that particular moment, there were no more dues to be paid.

As he strode to the plate -- his Red Sox leading by 10 runs at the time -- Fenway Park suddenly became his personal cheering section. The message on the center-field scoreboard alerted the Fenway faithful that Dominique was making his Major League debut.

Judging by the reaction of the crowd, most Red Sox fans already knew Dominique's feel-good story. First, they roared, then they began cheering, "Andy, Andy" in unison.

"I couldn't believe that. I got shivers," said manager Terry Francona. "That was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen. Andy kind of stepped out. I can only imagine what he was thinking."

A day later, Dominique was still glowing.

"I guess the easiest way to say it is it just proves the type of fans that are out here," said Dominique. "It showed that the fans actually do pay attention to some of the things going on at the lower levels."

After getting ahead in the count 2-0, the 28-year-old Dominique struck out swinging. But that didn't matter to the infielder-catcher-DH.

"It was awesome," said Dominique, who was in the Phillies' farm system for five years before coming to the Red Sox in April 2002. "When you come up in that situation and have all those people standing up and chanting my name for no reason and we're up by 10 ... it was way unexpected and really appreciated and it's probably the best moment of my life for that to happen. Just awesome."

It was the second most awesome thing to happen to Dominique on Tuesday. The first was when the Sox called him at roughly 4 p.m. to tell him his services were needed.

Dominique had an inkling it was coming, as the Sox instructed him to come to Boston on Monday and stay at a nearby hotel until they figured out the status of injured third baseman Bill Mueller.

When the decision was made that Mueller was having surgery and going on the disabled list, Dominique was instructed to come to Fenway, and he got there in time for the second round of batting practice.

"That's the moment I've been waiting for," said Dominique. "It was just the gratification of the fans, and the gratification of being in the locker room with a great organization like this with all these great players. The whole ovation, that was just icing on the cake."

Damon's steal slump: Sox leadoff man Johnny Damon stole 30 bases last season, while being caught just five times. Just two months into the 2004 season, Damon has been caught four times in nine attempts.

Damon, who stole a career-high 46 bases in 2000, isn't worried about it.

"It's mostly circumstantial," he said. "Of course I'd like to be better at it but every throw the catchers have been making have been right on and normally they're not right on. I understand that stealing bases isn't the most important thing here. By no means am I frustrated about it. I feel like I will help this team by stealing bases, you know? Maybe not today, but a lot of times during the season."

Francona mentioned that Damon has utilized good judgment on the bases, and that when he has tried to steal, it's been at the right time.

"I also think as the season progresses, especially veteran guys, when it warms up they tend to swing the bat better and they tend to maybe run a little bit better," Francona said. "That's just the way it goes."

Injury update: Shortstop Nomar Garciaparra again took batting practice at Fenway Park against a pitcher from Harvard, and also did some baserunning.

While team doctor Bill Morgan said Tuesday that Garciaparra could be ready to start a rehab assignment by next week, Francona didn't wish to put any kind of target date on it.

"He goes at it pretty good," Francona said. "He's getting better. That's obvious. He's going pretty aggressive with what he's doing. So regardless of whether it's next week or two weeks, he's getting better. That's the whole idea."

As for DH Ellis Burks, he took batting practice Wednesday, after being forced to slow it down for a few days.

Burks underwent knee surgery on April 27, at which time he was expected to miss roughly six weeks. In other words, the 39-year-old looks to be close to his projected return.

"He was out hitting today," Francona said. "He had gone so quick and he kind of had to slow down a little bit. I think he's back on his program."

Ian Browne is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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