With the second week of the MLB season in the books, here are some of my week two headlines.

Kyuji Fujikawa Injury: Cubs reliever Fujikawa has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right forearm strain. Fujikawa struggled Saturday with command and appeared to be under duress during the ninth inning. This doesn’t give Cubs fans much hope as we’re now onto the third closer for the cubs. Dale Sveum said the plan going forward is using James Russell and Shawn Camp in a closer by committee approach. Hopefully there are no hiccups in Fujikawa’s recovery and we see him back at Wrigley sooner rather than later.

Dioner Navarro Pinch Hitting: Navarro has done something that rarely ever happens in the major leagues: He came off the bench the past two days and hit a homerun left-handed and right-handed, becoming the first player since Todd Benzinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers did it in 1992. A great sign for the club moving forward as Navarro can provide some power off the bench as a pinch-hitter.

Carlos Villanueva’s Great Start: Villanueva has had some tough luck lately when trying to lodge a victory. The Cubs’ bullpen collapsed in Atlanta and on Saturday against the Giants at Wrigley. Villanueva’s line through his first two starts includes 14 innings pitched, a 0.64 earned run average along with nine strikeouts. Villanueva was counted on as depth for the rotation and he is pitching like a solid No. 2 pitcher. If he can pitch at a third of the level he is pitching now it would be a tremendous lift to this team due to the injuries of Scott Baker and Matt Garza. He could be trade bait as we move closer to the trading deadline which could give the Cubs some young players to help with the rebuilding process.

To sum up this past week for the Cubs, it’s been a mixed bag. Their record for this week is 2-4 with a rainout on Wednesday against the Brewers. The Rotation is still performing at a high level, but our offense needs to become more consistent for this team to contend this year. As we move into next week we have the Rangers coming to town to end the 10-game homestand. On Friday, the Cubs will hit the road for a 10-game roadtrip that includes the Brewers, Reds and the Miami Marlins. The next few weeks should be interesting as the schedule gets a little bit easier with the Padres and Marlins, but as we have seen with the Cubs this season, no game is easy.