Brooks Conrad Non-Tendered: Does This Spell Trouble for Braves' Bench?

I read it and couldn't believe it.

The Atlanta Braves non-tendered utility player Brooks Conrad, making the 31-year-old an immediate free agent.

My question is, does this put an immediate hurt on the Braves' bench?

Let's start with a little background first.

Conrad no doubt has been on the highest of highs with the Braves, as well as the lowest of lows.

Every Braves' fan remembers the 2010 Divisional Playoffs against the San Francisco Giants, in which Conrad made three errors that helped cost the Braves Game 3, more or less costing the Braves the series as well.

However, what many Braves' fans tend to forget is the number of times Conrad helped the Braves snatch victory from the hands of defeat, putting them in a position to even be in the playoffs.

Case in point, on May 20, Conrad came to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth with the Braves trailing 9-6, after scoring five runs in the inning. Conrad proceeded to hit a walk-off grand slam, one of his four game-winning home runs off the bench that year.

Even though he hit .223 last year, Conrad still found ways to deliver the clutch hit. On May 25, Conrad delivered again, this time in the top of the 11th inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates, hitting a two-run homer to ultimately give the Braves the win.

So, I present this question again: Is getting rid of Conrad ultimately a good thing for the Braves?

With him off the bench, the Braves now have Eric Hinske, David Ross, Matt Diaz and Jose Constanza left. Other than Hinske, are any of those other guys going to deliver clutch hits when needed?

What made Conrad so valuable was his ability to come off the bench in the eighth or ninth innings to deliver a key hit when the Braves needed it.

With this move, the biggest question mark for the Braves is, who will they sign off the free-agent market to replace him?

Do you bring back Jack Wilson? What about Nick Punto? Greg Dobbs anyone?

Who can fill the shoes of Conrad in clutch situations?

From looking at the free-agent list, I don't see one player that's clutch in the eighth and ninth innings.

Sure, Conrad got out more times than he got on base in clutch situations, but he was still one player other teams didn't want to see come up in the ninth inning with the game on the line.

Frank Wren, you made a good move trading away Derek Lowe. Non-tendering Conrad was a bad move in my opinion.

It's time to see what you have up your sleeve, because I would hate to see the Braves down in the bottom of the ninth needing a clutch hit and it not be an obvious choice of who you're going to in that situation.