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One of the dumbest things smart baseball people say is "He didn't get any dumber in the last year." Meaning managers and general managers, unlike players, are static -- they don't have good and bad years.

The 1987 reunion weekend, and the play of the 2007 Twins, tells us this is silly. The '87 Twins won it all largely because fledgling GM Andy MacPhail made a series of productive moves — bringing in closer Jeff Reardon, outfielder Dan Gladden, infielder Al Newman and, at the August trading deadline, Don Baylor — without giving up a worthwhile player.

MacPhail's moves, combined with Tom Kelly's shrewd managing and a talented core group of players, combined to produce the memories we'll celebrate this weekend.

MacPhail's magic worked before the '91 season, when he brought in Jack Morris and Chili Davis and won it all again. And MacPhail failed when he traded Tom Brunansky for Tommy Herr in 1988, proving again that GMs have good and bad years.

This has been a bad year for current Twins GM Terry Ryan. (Or, if you prefer, the Twins owners who have forced him to shed millions in payroll during the race instead of urging him to improve the roster.)

Ryan hasn't necessarily gotten smarter or dumber since he got the job following the 1994 season, and yet his career has been marked by three distinct phases.

Phase I, 1994-98: Help!

Ryan admits he was overmatched when he first got the job. He was running a franchise in decline for an owner who didn't want to subsidize a losing team, or spend enough to compete in an era of skyrocketing contracts.

So Ryan saved money and brought in dozens of lousy players — remember Scott Aldred, Alex Cole and Jerald Clark? — because they were cheap. This was one of the worst stretches of baseball in franchise history.

The emblematic move of this phase was the trade of pitchers Rick Aguilera, Kevin Tapani, Mark Guthrie and Scott Erickson at the 1995 trade deadline for eight players, only one of whom, Ron Coomer, deserved a uniform.

Phase II, 1998-2003: He Gets It

During this time, Ryan became the best GM in the game. Ryan began by trading disgruntled second baseman Chuck Knoblauch to the Yankees for a handful of youngsters, and Ryan's farm system finally produced some productive prospects.

In 2001, the Twins ended a stretch of eight consecutive losing seasons, and in 2002 they began a stretch of four division titles in five years.

Ryan made the mistake of letting David Ortiz go during this time. That was a rare mistake. He made a succession of brilliant trades, receiving Johan Santana, Eric Milton, Cristian Guzman, Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano, Boof Bonser, Carlos Silva, Nick Punto, Jason Bartlett and Shannon Stewart in exchange for the proverbial bag of balls.

These deals helped make the Twins a model franchise even while they were strapped for cash. The two trademark moves of this phase came when Ryan traded A.J. Pierzynski, whom he need to move out of Joe Mauer's way, for Nathan, Liriano and Bonser. And then this: Ryan acquired Milton in the Knoblauch trade, made good use of him, then traded him right before his career went into the tank for Silva and Punto.

Phase III, 2003-present: What Now?

Ryan displayed a genius for building contenders, but he has let the '07 team, one with immense star power but no depth, wither on the vine.

Since Dec. 3, 2003, Ryan has made only two productive trades — two pitching prospects for Luis Castillo, and J.C. Romero for Alexi Casilla. Perhaps handcuffed by ownership's payroll restrictions, he hasn't made a bold move to improve the big-league roster since adding Castillo in December of '05.