Blue Jays report card at disappointing 44-37 mid-season mark

The 81-game grades with percentages that are based on that player's expectations

The Blue Jays were halfway home, on Wednesday night, producing, inarguably, a disappointing first 81 games, given the additions and pre-season expectations that existed heading to spring training. If all individual players had lived up to what was expected, Toronto would surely be challenging the Rays and Braves for the best record in baseball. But that hasn’t happened, with the most obvious disappointment being the monumental struggles of opening day starter, Alek Manoah (1-7, 6.36 ERA).

No doubt, even Charles Dickens would be disappointed given Alek’s Great Expectations. After all, Manoah finished third in AL Cy Young voting, was a social media star at the All-Star Game exchanging witty commentary and banter with John Smoltz in the broadcast booth, while also striking out the side. He was proclaimed a mortal lock to become the face of the Jays’ rotation for years to come. But, after 13 head-scratching failures as No. 1 starter and before the downhill snowball became an avalanche,…