[fnurt]

I don't see your thinking as all that absurd. The miniraise is another play to consider in this type of situation. (Some will say the miniraise obviously signals a hand that you're looking to get away from - others will say the miniraise obviously signals AA/KK!)

If you get raised, you can definitely form a plan of action based on who raises you. For example, if there's an EP raise, it's likely to be a real hand, but if the button raises, maybe it's just someone who likes to punish limpers. With only 10 BB, 88 is a pretty good hand to gamble with, and your default should be to call a raise unless things look particularly scary.

One advantage of not simply open-pushing is that there are many hands which will give action to a limper (lower pairs, ace-rag) that would never call a push.