DOWN THE LINE

Bonds by the Bay?

The Angels don’t have John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar in their rotation, and closer Francisco Rodriguez and his tender ankles are at the back end of a suddenly shaky bullpen. The Mariners don’t have ace Erik Bedard and closer J.J. Putz, and outfielder Brad Wilkerson, the replacement for Jose Guillen, is hitting .150.

So the A’s could hang in the AL West race through Memorial Day, the traditional start to GM Billy Beane’s summer trading season. Designated hitter Jack Cust hit 26 homers last season, in the first extended playing time of his seven major league seasons, but he’s off to a .167 start, with one home run and 20 strikeouts in 48 at-bats.

If Cust turns out to be a one-year wonder and the A’s do not sink in the standings, they might well consider Barry Bonds one more time. The A’s discussed Bonds last winter, then backed away after his perjury indictment, but a judge has since ordered a revised indictment, and the season should be over before any trial would start.

A’s owner Lew Wolff declined to say whether he might pursue Bonds. Bonds continues to work out in Los Angeles and remains interested in playing this season, according to agent Jeff Borris. Bonds has said he would entertain offers only from World Series contenders, and Borris stopped short of using the word “collusion” when asked if any non-contenders had extended offers.

“I haven’t had any offers from any team at any time,” Borris said, “which seems highly unusual for a player of his caliber.”

Party at Mendoza Line

Cust isn’t the only struggling slugger, but at least the A’s are paying him only $410,000. This list of struggling first basemen and designated hitters is extensive, and they’re expensive:

Jason Giambi, Yankees: .116, $23.4 million.

David Ortiz, Red Sox: .141, $13 million.

Jim Thome, White Sox: .172, $15.7 million.

Paul Konerko, White Sox: .172, $12 million.

Frank Thomas, Blue Jays: .167, $12.6 million.

Mark Teixeira, Braves: .221, $12.5 million.

Gary Sheffield, Tigers: .192, $13.3 million.

Ryan Howard, Phillies: .182, $10 million.

Richie Sexson, Mariners: .226, $15.5 million.

Carlos Delgado, Mets: .213, $16 million.

All night long

They had the seventh-inning stretch, then the 14th-inning stretch, then the 21st-inning stretch. They flashed “Good Morning, San Diego” on the scoreboard.

The game ended at 1:21 a.m. The Rockies and Padres did not score for the first 13 innings, but each team scored once in the 14th before the Rockies won in the 22nd.

Padres pitcher Randy Wolf singled, as a pinch-hitter, but the five San Diego position players that pinch-hit went hitless. Jim Edmonds pinch-hit in the 10th -- and finished the game with five at-bats.

The Padres’ Josh Bard and the Rockies’ Yorvit Torrealba caught all 22 innings. “I wanted to catch eight more,” Torrealba told the Denver Post. “I wanted to get 30 innings in.”

Evan almighty?

Evan Longoria, the former Long Beach State star, had played six major league games when the Rays signed him for six years on Friday, at a guaranteed $17.5 million. That’s quite a bargain, considering Howard got $10 million in arbitration this year.

Or quite a bust, which could be financially devastating for a small-market team trying to catch up to the Yankees and Red Sox.

Six years ago, the rookies of the year were Jason Jennings and Eric Hinske.

“Being a low-revenue team,” Rays GM Andrew Friedman said, “we have to think differently to keep our nucleus intact.”

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bill.shaikin@latimes.com