Not a bad strategy. I was just using a flat call as an example to illustrate the point. And there would be plenty of times here where a raise would not be appropriate. For example, if you’ve got two calling stations in the blinds, or a calling station and an aggressive player who likes to re-raise. With 89s, you’d generally like to be heads up against a very predictable opponent, or you’d like lots of callers to give you odds to play your draws.
If the guy in early position is a very good player and everyone else has folded, an even better strategy might be to simply fold your 89s before the flop. It’s a low profit hand at the best of times, and heads up against a good aggressive player who has big cards but is unpredictable enough that you can’t always put him on those big cards is not a position you really want to be in.
But your post is a perfect example of the correct kind of thinking, for sure. Analyze the situation, think about what your opponent has and the best way to play against him. Mulling over percentages and pot odds all the time tends to displace more important thought processes.