Jim Leyland knew the question was coming -- and he was ready for it.
        “How far away is Jeremy Bonderman?” a reporter asked.
        “Sixty miles,” the Tigers manager replied with a straight face.
        Then, after a suitable pause, Leyland added, “He’s in Toledo.”
        “How long have you been waiting to use that line?” I asked.
        Leyland looked at me and grinned.
        But, to answer the question, Bonderman will almost certainly be back with the Tigers when the roster is expanded on Sept. 1 -- if not before.
        Just in time for the September stretch drive, which could get intense and go right down to the final week when the Tigers will host their top two rivals in the American League Central, the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins.
        In fact, 13 of the Tigers’ final 16 games will be against the ChiSox and Twins.
        And that will almost certainly put added burden on the middle of their pitching staff which is already stretched thin.
        That was evident on Wednesday when they returned reliever Chris Lambert to Toledo and recalled Freddy Dolsi -- neither of whom holds the answer to what ails the Tigers.
        Lambert had to bail out Rick Porcello on Tuesday night when Porcello was ejected after hitting Boston’s Kevin Youkilis, which started a brief brawl.
        Ironically, the Red Sox’ pitcher on Tuesday night was none other than Junichi Tazawa, a player from the Japanese Industrial League that the Tigers coveted. Tazawa would have given them some much-needed pitching depth in the organization.
        Meanwhile, Leyland is being careful not to count on Bonderman or Nate Robertson until they demonstrate that they are ready to deliver.
        “He (Bonderman) has got to get people out, that’s the way I look at it,” Leyland explained. “He’s got to build himself back up to where he’s ‘pitchable.’
        “The thing about guys who are coming back off the disabled list is, they all think they’re ready six weeks before they’re ready,” the manager continued.
        “They think that just because they walk into the clubhouse and their arm doesn’t hurt they’re ready to pitch. That’s that true. Feeling good and getting hitters out are two different things.”