Hug a Detroit Tigers fan today. They need it.

It's been a grueling season for our Boys of Summer, who are coming off a 16-2 shellacking at the hands of the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night at Comerica Park.

With the team at 45-55 - more than 9 games out of the American League Central lead - and the trade deadline coming Monday, we could see more of the team's better players get dealt in trades. We could even see the end of the Justin Verlander era in Detroit.

Read more:

Bruce Rondon incites worst moment of an embarrassing Detroit Tigers season

Insider: How Tigers may have damaged Anibal Sanchez's trade value

So, yeah. It's a bad time. But we're trying to cheer you up.

We asked our Twitter followers at @freepsports (are you following us yet?) to respond to us with a GIF to describe what it's like to be a Tigers fan these days.

The responses have been tremendous. Here are some of our favorites - and let us know if we've cheered you up, even for a small moment.

(Hit the play button on each GIF to start each animation.)