I really need to get used to using the Eagle "command line" stuff. I just forget it's even there most of the time.
If I have to layout 500+ components on a board solely with the mouse, I would look for another job.
Consider you are zoomed into a part of the board where you want to layout some components.
Instead of zooming out or panning and looking for and selecting/grabbing the component,
you simply type "move r123". That component will be immediately attached to your mouse cursur and you can place it
where you want. Then you press the "arrow-up" key and change the command into "move r124" and repeat the process.
While the component is attached to the mouse cursor, you can rotate it by clicking the right mouse button.
Middle-click to place the component on the opposite side of the board.