It may be possible to work at the crazy angle going through the starter hole, but I'd probably want to murder someone after. You'd have to the get clip off and on again, and also get the old ball out and new in again.
Dropping tranny really isn't that bad once you have the process down. You can do it in 1.5 hours by yourself, quicker with help. Biggest tip that I often see missed is to left the rear drop down by removing the 6 mount bolts to make getting at the top 2 bolts significantly easier. Then jack it back up so its level and finish the rest.
