Day 6/Bernie Williams

5:06 p.m., Saturday

The Atlantic League rumor mill was in full effect today. Last year, the Tiger Town complex was abuzz during Atlantic League spring training with rumors of Juan Gonzalez possibly joining the league. That move eventually happened, but not until July.

THE BIG NEWS TODAY INVOLVED BERNIE WILLIAMS' NAME.

The idea of Patriots owner Steve Kalafer calling Yankees manager Joe Torre was floating around Saturday afternoon. Kalafer and Torre are longtime close friends, and Torre recently said that Williams “just needs to go play baseball somewhere.”

CHECK SUNDAY'S PAPER FOR THOUGHTS FROM KALAFER, PATRIOTS MANAGER SPARKY LYLE AND DIRECTOR OF PLAYER PROCUREMENT BRETT JODIE

MY THOUGHTS: In a dreamer's world, this is a perfect match. Williams is the kind of high-profile player the Atlantic League salivates over. The only difference here is that Williams has the personality to match his celebrity. Both Lyle and Jodie -- who briefly teamed with Williams in 2001 -- spoke of Williams' class, but that's no news to Yankees fans of past 16 years.
Williams' presence would pack Commerce Bank Ballpark and you could certainly see him taking the time to sign autographs and recognize the Yankees fan base in Central Jersey.
Torre and Kalafer are friends, and I'm surprised the Yankees don't use the Patriots as an additional farm team more often -- especially in a case like this where it does not make sense to disrupt their own Triple-A lineup.

HOWEVER, I don't see this really happening. The Atlantic League is designed to display players for all possible suitors, not just one. And since Bernie has made it clear that he only wants to play for the Yankees, he might still hold out for a spot with their big-league team or a spot in Triple-A with a guaranteed call-up within two weeks.
Bottom line: Somerset fans will have to continue to wait for their next marquee name player. Tim Raines' seven games in 2000 feels like a century ago, but don't put all your eggs in Bernie's basket just yet.