BOSTON — Once upon a time, in a big playoff game between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, a starting pitcher hung around too long. This may be shocking to younger fans, but it’s true. And it wasn’t because the bullpen phone was broken.

The fateful decision by Grady Little, who stuck with a fading Pedro Martinez as the Yankees erupted in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series, now seems as quaint as a flannel uniform. No manager today would risk losing a game — or his job, as Little did — without at least trying a few relievers.

Consider the 2018 postseason. Through the first two games of each of the division series, and including the two wild-card games, starting pitchers had averaged fewer than five innings per start. Only three starters — Hyun-Jin Ryu and Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Gerrit Cole of the Houston Astros — had worked seven innings.

Sometimes, of course, starters are yanked for pitching badly. That is why the Red Sox pulled David Price in the second inning of a 6-2 loss to the Yankees in Game 2 on Saturday night. But it is also the time of the year when micromanaging the bullpen takes over the sport.