Scott Lauber, via Twitter, brings an early Christmas present:

Eric Bruntlett, John Ennis, Tyler Walker, Paul Hoover, Andy Tracy have been removed from #Phillies’ 40-man roster and will be free agents.

Emphasis mine. Go ahead, I’ll give you a minute:

Not that this is at all unexpected, but it’s nice to have some finality in saying goodbye to the most futile offensive force on the Phillies since . . . I don’t know, Dale Sveum? Suggestions are welcome. Anyway, Bruntlett is gone, and here is a rear-view mirror look back at his brief Phillies career, for those fortunate enough to be in the getaway car. In two seasons with the Phillies, from 2008 to 2009, The Bearded Wonder posted a .202/.273/.278 line for the Phillies with 2 home runs. Over that same period, out of all players with at least 250 plate appearances:

• Eight players had a lower on base percentage
• Two players had a lower slugging percentage
• Only one player, Corey Patterson, had a lower OPS+ (Bruntlett: 44; Patterson: 42)
• 138 players had a higher batting average than Bruntlett’s slugging percentage
• 10 players had a higher slugging percentage than Bruntlett’s OPS
• 15 players had less total bases

If you made a team whose offense was comprised entirely of 2008-2009 Bruntletts, along with average pitching and average defense, they would’ve went 73-251 over those two seasons. Only four players in 2009 with at least 100 plate appearances had a lower run value per 100 fastballs seen. There were 16 pitchers in 2009 with at least 40 plate appearances that posted a higher OPS than Bruntlett. I think you get the idea. If you ever doubted the value of “addition by subtraction,” watch the revamped 2010 Phillies bench next season, and keep in mind the most important subtraction of all.