Time is running out for Dontrelle Willis.
        “We’re at the point where we’re trying almost anything,” Jim Leyland admitted Friday.
        So, until further notice, the struggling $22 million left hander will revert to his trademark high leg kick that he and the Tigers have spent much of the past year trying to remove from Willis’ repertoire.
        “My back’s against the wall,” admitted Willis, who, in desperation, took it upon himself in the middle of his appearance against Atlanta on Thursday night to return to the wind-up that brought him success with the Florida Marlins in 2003-07.
        Rick Knapp, the Tigers’ new pitching coach, approved of the change.
        Willis has an 0-2 record with a 12.46 ERA after four games this spring. Obviously, his new subdued wind-up wasn’t working. “I’m sure he’s not satisfied with the results he’s been getting,” Leyland said.
        “Everybody can’t have a smooth, perfect delivery,” Leyland continued. “That’s just the way it is. When you start thinking like that, you become a robot.
        “You are what you are,” Leyland added. “You have to do what your brain tells you.”
        Willis will make his next appearance on Tuesday. The Tigers are off that day but Willis and Jeremy Bonderman will pitch in a morning “camp game” against minor league hitters.
        But don’t read anything into the fact that the two will be pitching across the road from Marchant Stadium in Tigertown. “That’s just the way it falls,” Leyland said.
        Bonderman, who threw two scoreless innings in his first exhibition start on Thursday night, is scheduled to throw between 45 and 50 pitches next time out.
        After that, Willis and Bonderman will each have a maximum of three more starts in which to prepare for the regular season.
        However, Bonderman isn’t the one Leyland is worried about.
        “If Bondo stays healthy, if there are no setbacks, he’ll be ready to pitch Opening Day, or the fifth game, or the second or the third or the fourth,” the Tigers’ manager said.
        But what does the future hold for Willis, who, because of his track record and his guaranteed salary, still has a shot at that fifth spot in the Tigers’ starting rotation?
        “I don’t have the answer to that,” Leyland admitted. “I wish I did.”