NEW YORK -- The Los Angeles Dodgers will pack up their laser rangefinders and head to Chicago, where innovation is apparently less frowned upon than it is in Queens.

Of all the wild things that happened in New York this weekend, from a Clayton Kershaw start on Sunday, to Chase Utley's two-homer answer to a pitch behind him, to Julio Urias' rocky debut, the whole issue revolving around the Dodgers’ defensive preparations remained a curious one.

One theory for why the New York Mets might have notified Major League Baseball over the Dodgers’ use of electronics to set defensive positioning is that they are committed to making life as difficult as possible for any team that employs Utley, especially the one he played for in last year’s playoffs.

So how will the Dodgers’ country-club inspired laser rangefinder-measuring system be received when they reach historic Wrigley Field for four games this week?

“I really like the idea of utilizing that stuff just to chart initially, to be able to use GPS [and] try to be really exact where the ball is hit,” new-age Cubs manager Joe Maddon told reporters in Chicago on Sunday. “So then when you compile your information, you’re not getting negative noise.

“We used to do the thing where you had a book in the dugout and you had different colored pencils and somebody would draw a line [to] where the ball is hit. [Now] you’re getting actual results. You know this is true. The dot is there. The dot is accurate.”

That “dot” is another part of the Dodgers’ defensive scheme. While that laser rangefinder is used to determine points in the outfield, those spots are marked with paint on the Dodger Stadium outfield. The Dodgers said they asked if they could paint their dots at Citi Field this weekend, but were denied the opportunity.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shrugged and said he was more than willing to abide by the Mets’ wishes. Maddon, on the other hand, sounded like a guy that would bring some paint from home if the Dodgers needed it.

“If they’re putting markers on the field, that doesn’t bother me,” Maddon said. “They can put bull’s-eyes out there. I don’t care. It doesn’t really matter. There’s other ways to do exactly the same thing without that method of technology just by preparation before the game.”

If Maddon had any criticism of the Dodgers’ defensive preparation it was that the lasers seemed like a bit of false hustle.

“There’s other ways to do exactly the same things without using a laser,” Maddon said.

One Dodgers official who was told of Maddon’s comments smiled. Roberts offered the Cubs’ skipper a verbal tip of the cap.

“So we’ll put some bull’s eyes out there; that’s great,” Roberts said. “Thanks, Joe.”

Roberts’ approach seems to coincide better with the open-minded Maddon.

“I think he gets it that life’s too short to sweat the small stuff,” Roberts said. “I’ve got a lot of admiration for Joe. There is always a method to his madness, and he keeps his guys loose. You have to have fun and not take things too seriously. He’s the epitome of that.”