Cincinnati ? Ken Griffey Jr. is feeling good enough to glare.

The center fielder’s long look into the Marlins’ dugout while he circled the bases last week sent a message to everyone who has relegated him to the past tense. An impressive May has revived his team and his reputation.

Junior is hitting, and the Cincinnati Reds are winning.

“If he’s healthy, he’s really, really good,” shortstop Barry Larkin said. “Unfortunately, people here haven’t seen that in the last three or four years.”

Look at him now.

He has nine homers and 26 RBIs in May, one of the best months by anyone in the majors. With four homers in a six-game span, Griffey closed the gap on the revered 500-homer mark — he’s only seven away.

He’s still one of the game’s best when his 34-year-old body allows.

“It has to be a great feeling for him, just a little bit of: ‘I’m still here, don’t write me off,'” Reds reliever Todd Jones said.

Don’t tick him off, either.

The All-Century outfielder was all but forgotten after three years of unrelenting injuries left scars on his legs, shoulder and image. He had ankle and shoulder surgery last year, and opened this season on the bench because of a sore calf.

At the end of April, he was struggling along with his team. His swing was out of whack, and opposing pitchers knew it. They went right after him with the game on the line — something they’d never dream of doing in the ’90s.

It got worse. With Sean Casey leading the NL in hitting, opponents started issuing intentional walks so they could face Griffey instead.

That was too much.

When Florida manager Jack McKeon intentionally walked Casey last Tuesday to pitch to Griffey with the game on the line, Junior hit Josh Beckett’s first pitch deep into the stands in right field, then glared into the Marlins dugout as he rounded the bases.

They got the point.

“Junior has a tendency to respond well to criticism and controversy and challenges,” Larkin said. “Walking the guy in front of him is definitely a challenge.”

As Griffey circled the bases, the home-run countdown board in right-center was quickly changed to 492, showing he was one closer to the 500 mark.

It was the third time in five games that an opponent had walked Casey to get to Griffey, and it obviously was getting to him more than he had let on.

“They probably won’t do it too much more,” Jones said. “I told Griffey, ‘They need to check your baseball card.’ He said, ‘They don’t need to check my baseball card. They can check right-center. They’ve got my home runs up there. That ought to tell you something.'”