Bleacher Report got Tigers fans wrong: we're not depressed, just pissed off

Are Detroit Tigers fans among the most depressed fans in Major League Baseball? Bleacher Report thinks so.

In a story ranking the most depressed fans, B/R writer Kerry Miller slotted the Tigers fanbase in eighth. Miller admitted this was a bit of a tricky one to rank, because the team has started the season mostly at .500 or above.

"(N)ow the Tigers are kind of...good?" Miller wrote. "They're still in their usual spot of gazing upward at multiple teams in the AL Central standings, but prior to Thursday, they had woken up to a .500 or better record every morning thus far this season.

"There's surely still some lingering depression/pessimism, but things are looking up for the Tigers for the first time in a long time," Miller continued. "They are still tied with the Angels for the longest active postseason drought in baseball, but they just might be putting an end to that misfortunate run."

Tigers fans may have been depressed, now they're just pissed off

It hasn't often been easy to be a Tigers fan. Not only have they gone nine full seasons between playoff appearance, 2024 is the 40th anniversary of the last World Series victory. They were the worst franchise in the 1990s. They lost the most games in American League history in 2003. They finally had a great team in the early 2010s but disappointed fans time and time again in the playoffs.

In the past several years, fans have watched their stars like Justin Verlander or Max Scherzer go on to win Cy Young awards and World Series titles in different jerseys while paying Miguel Cabrera to be a below-replacement player. The most recent seemingly neverending rebuild lose 114 games and finish an astonishing 53.5 games out of first place in 2019.

That was then. This is now.

Fans were skeptical entering the season, as they should have been. Expectations were not that high, generally within a few games above or below .500. This wasn't going to be the year of a playoff run in anyone's minds. It would just be exciting to have interesting games and maybe a little scoreboard watching in September.

Then the team started off the season with five straight wins and it became apparent there could be something a little special brewing.

The Tigers have one of the best pitchers in the American League with Tarik Skubal taking the mound every five games. They have among the best rotations in the league and an overall strong bullpen to go with it. Yet they've been shut out five times and lost 17 one-run games. To some fanbases, maybe that's depressing.

Reese Olson is 0-5. He has an ERA of 2.16. A fan on social media joked that he could be the first Cy Young winner to finish the season without a win.

It's one thing to say let's have fun and enjoy the unexpected ride. It's entirely another when it's the same narrative time and time again holding the team back and knowing more could have been done. Why do we keep seeing efforts wasted?! The "do something" meme sums it up when you see the lineup struggle seemingly nightly.

The sentiment among Tigers fans on social media and beyond is today more one of frustration verging on anger. Why is owner Chris Ilitch so tight with the purse strings? Why didnt they do more to shore up the lineup when they had some idea entering the season they had pretty solid run prevention. Are they actually going to try to make some changes to win some games or do fans have permission to check out when football season returns?

The team could have been better than this if only they had actually tried to be. That's not depressing. It just pisses you off.