We're Turning Japanese; We Really Think So[x]

And we thought the days of musical Red Sox pitchers were over when Bronson Arroyo got traded. But we can't wait for July 17, when pitching sensation Daisuke Matsuzaka will release his own mix CD, "Music From the Mound" with a collection of songs that inspire and touch the hurler, plus an original track or two.

You may have heard one on Monday night, when NESN gave us a few seconds of "Gyro Ball", which has a pulsating beat overlaid with a few minutes of chatter between Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy. Don and Jerry are psyched and already planning their big winter tour of Japan.

But Daisuke isn't just getting his friends in the broadcast booth involved. No, he's also called on the considerable local talents of Nuno Bettencourt (of Extreme fame) and harmonica player Magic Dick, formerly of the J. Geils Band. Good thing Dice is a wealthy young man, since it must have taken some pretty tall yen to coax those two out of retirement.

Will Daisuke himself sing on the album? Will he enlist the help of his fellow moundsmen, so we might get a rendition of "Black Betty" by Mike Timlin, "God Bless the U.S.A." by Curt Schilling, or even "They're Coming To Take Me Away (Ha Ha)" by Julian Tavarez? Can we trade for Kevin Millar so he can belt out "Born in the U.S.A." for us one more time? So many unanswered questions until the CD hits the shelves.

Adobe Photoshop has asked that their name not be associated with the image above, so we'll blame Try-N-Save Generic Brand Image Manipulation Software.