The career of Bernie Williams may be in its last act. Nobody associated with the New York Yankees wants to see this particular career come to close; not teammates, not the manager, not the fans, probably not even the media. The end of this career might be understandable, but that does not mean that anybody has to like the fact that this career is ending.

Even as you consider that the man is 38, and even when it could be generally agreed that the New York Yankees might need other, younger talents, there seems to be a certain unfairness to all of it. The good guys, the class acts, the ones that represent the best elements of their sport and their team, get no particular breaks from the aging process or from the pattern of constant change that characterizes the game.

The people who have watched and appreciated what these players have done and what they have meant to the game can only look on with dismay while this process occurs.

All of this was why on Sunday, in a Yankees camp in which the theme of organizational change in direction underlies the entire spring, Topic A was the one element that nobody really wanted to change -- Bernie Williams. He wasn't at Legends Field.

The Yankees have asked Williams to come to camp as a non-roster invitee. Williams has so far declined that invitation. That non-roster status would be a substantial comedown for a man who was at the core at one of this franchise's most successful eras, a man who has been with this team for 16 seasons, who has played every one of his 2,076 Major League games in the uniform of this team. And yet, if he made this team, as it is set up now, the largest role he could expect would be that of a bit player, a spot player, a fifth outfielder.

Manager Joe Torre had spoken with Williams in mid-week, personalizing the Yankees' invitation to camp. Torre said that he planned to call Williams again later on Sunday and renew the personal invitation. "I'm going to reach out for him," Torre said.

Torre has been on record for many years with his professional esteem and personal affection for Bernie Williams. He wants to see Williams in camp competing for a job. All those years of service Williams has had with the Yankees count for something.

"The reason that you take into account all that he has done is that you care that he comes down," Torre said on Sunday.

And yet, the hour grows late. The Yankees' position players are due in for their physical exams on Monday. Any position player arriving after that could, officially or unofficially, be considered late. In Williams' case, the arrival time would be the sooner the better.

"The more opportunities he gets to show what he can contribute in our situation, the better chance he has," Torre said. "He has to make a statement."

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Perhaps the mere fact of being placed in that situation represents an injury to Williams' pride. Perhaps the possibility of a long and illustrious career ending in the humiliation of being released is another factor keeping him from camp. There are those who believe that if Williams showed up, Torre would find some way to keep him on this club, but the manager himself said that he could not absolutely guarantee anything to Williams.

Long-time teammates and friends of Williams on this team make it clear that they want him here, too. But as more time passes, it appears less likely that he will be here.

Standing in the Legends Field clubhouse after the workout on Sunday, catcher Jorge Posada was asked if deep down he thought that Williams would come to camp. "I don't think so," Posada said. "I called him and he hasn't returned my call.

"But I would still love to see him walk through that door."

Closer Mariano Rivera spoke of how Bernie Williams was "like a member of the family," and how it was a tough thing for Williams to be put in the position of having to make this team, his team. Rivera said that "as a player and a teammate," he very much wanted Williams to return, but that in this case he could not pretend to know what was in the best interests of the Yankees.

This is not a question of right and wrong. It is not the fault of the Yankees at this juncture that Bernie Williams cannot start ahead of Johnny Damon or Bobby Abreu or Hideki Matsui, or that Melky Cabrera has become a better bet for playing time.

And yet, it is still regrettable that a career that meant so much to this franchise would end in this fashion. Those 128 postseason hits, each of which seemed to mean so much at the time, don't factor into the decision of what direction the club should have tomorrow. The fact that a man carried himself with dignity and grace for so many years should count for something, shouldn't it? Except that it doesn't when the man gets to be a certain age and other outfield options seem more palatable.

The Yankees' consensus is that everybody would like to see Williams here trying to make this team. His career says that he deserves something more reassuring than that, but the current circumstances for the Bronx Bombers say something else.

A career such as Williams' career, for what it has meant both on and off the field, seems to require a noble ending, a fitting finish including both personal and team success, just before the sun sets. Instead, you get a stalemate over whether a non-roster invitation is really suitable or not.

Maybe retirement is preferable to this, but for the people who admired Bernie Williams' play and his person, if this is the end, it comes too soon.